A 74-year-old Orange County man faces 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling over $6 million over six years, federal officials stated Monday.
According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Central District of California Office, David Robert McDonnell, a Laguna Beach resident, owned and ran McDonnell Business Services. This company served as an executor of affluent people’s estates. Prosecutors allege that between 2018 and January 2024, the 74-year-old took advantage of his wealthy clients while serving as executor of their trusts.
“As an executor, McDonnell’s job was to manage the trusts’ assets and – when the individuals died – to sell the assets and distribute the proceeds to the trusts’ beneficiaries,” the press release added. “McDonnell liquidated the assets and diverted funds to his bank accounts instead of doing this.”
In August 2020, McDonnell wrote himself a $300,000 cheque from a victim’s trust in Capistrano Beach. According to federal prosecutors, Bank of America handled the funds via a computer server in Texas. According to the announcement, McDonnel pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and stated in his plea agreement that he stole approximately $5.9 million from four trusts.
The 74-year-old’s sentencing hearing is planned for December 9, at which point he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in federal prison.