By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
A Fresno-based hairstylist was sentenced on June 17 to 188 months—over 15 years—in federal prison for “defrauding a vulnerable physician out of more than $2.7 million before his death and then attempting to defraud his estate out of an additional amount exceeding $20 million,” according to a statement from The United States Department of Justice.
Anthony David Flores, also known as “Anton David,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Percy Anderson. He also ordered Flores to pay $1 million in restitution, the statement continued.
Dr. Mark Sawusch, who lived in Malibu, retired without warning in 2017 while working from an office on Via De La Paz—leaving former patients without access to their medical records. The ophthalmologist had a career of more than 30 years, following a medical degree from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, a residency at Johns Hopkins University and certification from the American Board of Ophthalmology.
“This defendant heartlessly lined his own pockets while his victim mentally and physically declined, and ultimately died,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Financial fraudsters can prey on anyone, even the most financially successful among us. We hope that our efforts to convict and now sentence this defendant bring some solace to the victim’s family.”
In October 2023, Flores pleaded guilty to nine felony charges: “one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, two counts of money laundering, and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity,” according to the Department of Justice.
“Mr. Flores and his co-defendant lived large on the victim’s massive wealth while they relentlessly robbed and exploited his vulnerabilities until he succumbed to an early death,” said Krysti Hawkins, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “The defendant deprived the victim’s family access to their loved one and then dragged them through years of litigation.”
Anna Rene Moore, Flores’ co-defendant and former girlfriend, was living in Monterrey, Mexico, when she was arrested in January 2023 at a Houston airport, the Department of Justice reported. She pleaded guilty in August 2023 to seven felonies, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for October 28. Flores and Moore have both been in federal custody since January 2023.
“Beginning in June 2017, Flores used false promises and representations to befriend the victim—a physician and successful investor worth more than $60 million, but who suffered from a mental illness and lost the ability to care for himself after multiple hospitalizations,” according to the DOJ statement. “Within days of meeting the victim, Flores and Moore moved into the victim’s beachfront Malibu home—rent free—and slowly took control of his life by pretending to be his new ‘best friends’ and caregivers.”
After Sawusch suffered what was described as a “severe mental breakdown,” which resulted in his arrest and detention in LA County jail, Flores fraudulently induced him to sign powers of attorney, granting Flores control over his finances in September 2017, according to the Justice Department, in order to post bail.
“From September 2017 to May 2018, Flores and Moore lived with the victim, diverted the victim’s funds to their own bank accounts, isolated the victim from his family and longtime friends, and provided the victim with drugs, including marijuana and LSD,” the statement continued.
After Sawusch died in his home in May 2018 at the age of 57, Flores and Moore moved back in and withdrew “large sums of money” from his accounts, according to the Justice Department. They also concealed information about Sawusch’s finances from his mother and sister, who resided in Florida.
“This prompted the victim’s family to file a lawsuit, which resulted in the fraud being uncovered,” according to the statement. “In the ensuing lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, Flores and Moore violated multiple court orders ordering them to return the funds stolen from the victim. They attempted to launder the fraudulent proceeds by funneling the money through multiple different accounts to thwart the victim’s estate and court-appointed receiver from recouping the money.”
“After extensive litigation with the victim’s estate,” according to the statement, a lawsuit was settled with Flores and Moore withdrawing false creditor’s claims and agreeing to repay the victim’s estate $1 million. They have so far failed to do it.
“The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter,” the DOJ statement concluded. “Assistant United States Attorney Andrew M. Roach of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section is prosecuting this case. Assistant United States Attorney James E. Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling asset forfeiture matters in this matter.”
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