LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A man accused of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds while employed as a marina manager at Dana Point Harbor, forwent a pretrial hearing Friday.
Brian Cleveland Dunn of Capistrano Beach was arraigned in November 2014 on charges of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds while formerly employed as the general manager of Vintage Marina Partners, the company hired by Orange County to manage the Embarcadero Marina at OC Dana Point Harbor.
At the scheduled pretrial hearing Friday, June 26 in Orange County Superior Court, Dunn’s attorney Gary Pohlson requested a preliminary hearing waiver. Judge Elizabeth Guerrero Macias granted the request.
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s arraignment press release, Dunn was charged with one felony count of misappropriation of public funds, one felony count of grand theft by embezzlement and sentence enhancements of aggravated white collar crime, property damage and property loss—charges that carry a maximum sentence of 11 years and four months in state prison.
Dunn pleaded not guilty and has since been out of custody on a $200,000 bond.
Between 2008 and 2012, Dunn allegedly submitted more than $130,000 in falsified invoices to the county for landscaping materials purchased at a 100 percent markup for Harbor projects from Organic Tree Landscaping, a company he started in 2008. Dunn is also accused of making unauthorized purchases of more than $440,000 between 2007 and 2011 with the Vintage Marina Partners company credit card for personal expenses such as travel, clothing and improvements to a vacation home in Hawaii, authorities said.
Following his court appearance on Friday, Dunn declined to comment.
“There is no need for a pretrial hearing,” Pohlson said. “We are going to settle this case.”
Dunn’s next court appearance is set for July 7.