Ripoff Report Needs Your Help!
X  |  CLOSE
Report: #1321471

Complaint Review: David Lee Hunter - Charlevoix Michigan

  • Submitted:
  • Updated:
  • Reported By: Anonymous — Roswell New Mexico U.S.A.
  • Author Confirmed What's this?
  • Why?
  • David Lee Hunter Charlevoix, Michigan USA

David Lee Hunter: Michigan Man Is A Notorious Con Artist, Scammer, Swindler David Hunter is only interested in your money! Charlevoix Michigan

*Author of original report: Additional Information/Correction From Post Author

Show customers why they should trust your business over your competitors...

Is this
Report about YOU
listed on other sites?
Those sites steal
Ripoff Report's
content.
We can get those
removed for you!
Find out more here.
How to fix
Ripoff Report
If your business is
willing to make a
commitment to
customer satisfaction
Click here now..

Full of a con man’s superficial charm, and flaunting the brawny good looks of action star Vin Diesel, David Hunter has a grifter’s narrative and an important quality shared by nearly every fraudster—he can fake authenticity.

When David Hunter breezed into the sea side Hawaiian restaurant in early 2005, its owner thought he’d found his perfect Dining Room Manager.

The owner of the recently launched restaurant, who needed a quick hire, listened raptly as Hunter spun stories about the fabulous places he’d worked, the night he'd gotten a $100 dollar tip and the big ideas he had for expanding the new business.

Hunter was hired, and quickly impressed his new boss by scoring a huge mark-up on a cache of middling wine—selling the wine that retailed at $25 for $150 a bottle.

But this Hawaiian orchid’s bloom faded quickly when Hunter’s boss received a call from a credit card company attempting to verify an unusually large charge. Checking with his customer, the owner learned that while the customer had eaten at the restaurant on the night the card was swiped, the amount charged far exceeded the cost of his dinner.

The man’s business partner called the police, and Hunter was arrested. 

After making bail, Hunter broke down and sobbed during a meeting with his bosses. Crying so hard his tears soaked the t-shirt he wore, the restaurant owner thought he "might have to get a mop” to clean up the fish pond of tears puddling on the floor at Hunter’s feet.

Hunter begged for his job, even offering to work for free. The owners relented, and things were fine...for a couple months.

One night in mid-2005, the restaurant’s night janitor came to work after the restaurant had closed, and found David Hunter still at work in the office closing out the night’s receipts and preparing the next day’s bank deposit. She reported it to her bosses, who confronted Hunter.

And guess what? Since most of us don’t swim in the same gene stream as Hunter, we might not understand how charisma and coolness under pressure blend smoothly in some folks like milk chocolate and peanut butter.

Hunter assured the men that he had dutifully come back to the restaurant after a night of bar hopping to finish up his closing duties.  The men accepted Hunter’s story and agreed to “trust him”, but decided to keep a closer watch on his activities.

And it didn’t take long—a few weeks later, the restaurant’s chef arrived at early one morning to open up, and found David Hunter (yes, you guessed it) in the office, working on the computer.

The chef’s report to the owners spurred forensic and IT audits—and the results indicated that Hunter had allegedly skimmed at least $25,000 from the restaurant in less than 10 months. The audit appeared to show Hunter had created a sophisticated, months-long scheme to skim a portion of each day’s receipts without leaving a paper trail, an operation that included manipulating the nightly receipts and diverting the cash to his own bank account. In addition, he had altered the company’s records so that the owners would not easily discover his discrepancies.

The fiscal fandango had stopped, and Hunter was cornered—but even he’d never guess what would happen next.

Convincing Hunter to meet by offering a con man’s favorite wholesome snack, flattery, the business partners then sat Hunter down and demanded his U. S. passport, Hawaiian drivers license, and social security card.  They told Hunter they wouldn’t press charges if he repaid the men the money he’d skimmed--$25,000.

Hunter reportedly signed a confession, and prevailed upon his then mother-in-law to loan him $15,000, paying off the rest in $1,000 monthly increments.

Later, the men learned that Hunter had repaid his debt the old-fashioned way—he'd reportedly stolen it from another Hawaiian restaurant.

But what would you expect from a guy who, according to the manager, “convinced eight restaurant employees to hand over $1,000 each to accompany Hunter and his bride on their cruise ship honeymoon. And none of them, including Hunter, had even asked for time off!”

Hunter’s former boss went on to build a successful business, expanding his restaurant to include catering.

Hunter and his wife eventually divorced, and he moved on to Miami where a June 18, 2009 complaint filed with the Martin County Sheriff's office alleged investment fraud relating to a World Bikini Football League team ownership sale.  According to a now-retired Miami police detective who contacted the Hawaiian restaurant owner, Hunter's alleged victim estimated the amount taken was north of $45,000. The charges were dropped against Hunter when the money was returned.

In 2008, Hunter reached out to his former boss, sending him an email signed “Paradox Hunter”.

David Hunter's scamming history

In 2011, Hunter was living in Lihue, Kauai and scammed hundreds of thousands of dollars in a "private social club" scam he pulled using Kalihi Kai Vista, a property he did not own. He told his victims he owned the place and got several people to pay him a $25,000 fee for a membership--in a resort he did not own!

Recently, he tried to pass himself off as a movie producer (of a Marvin Gaye biopic) and an investment broker.

"MARVIN" A Major Motion Picture About The Troubled Life Of Marvin Gaye

The stirring subhead on the August 2012 "private placement memorandum" proposal David Hunter developed for his most audacious scheme--a plan to raise $80 million dollars to produce a movie about late Motown great Marvin Gaye--left no doubt that Hunter aimed to conquer Hollywood.

But there was only one thing wrong--the entire document was fake, designed to entice an unsuspecting investor with whiffs and sniffs of the sweet smell of Tinseltown success to hand over a $100,000 "investment" to Hunter.

In the introduction of his 65-page document, Hunter claimed that "MARVIN Special Opportunities Holdings LLC, a California limited liability company (the "Fund"), is offering an aggregate of up to 25 Class A Membership Units" with a limit of $2,500,000 in aggregate contributions in this offering.

Sounds pretty good, right? And the manager of the "Fund" would be another California LLC, MARVIN Management.

However, the State of California official business entity database showed no evidence of either company's existence--ever!

So where would your money go? 

To David Hunter!

This is how Hunter described himself in the private placement memorandum -- all fake:

"Mr. Hunter raises private equity for Private Placement Memorandums. Mr. Hunter’s clients demand complete privacy and tend to initially fund projects from a silent position.

Mr. Hunter has been highly anticipating the making of “Marvin”, and has spent ample time pre-planning this film with Frederick Bestall. Mr. Hunter is also collaborating with (REDACTED) for an off Broadway play/ project for the Peace Corp. Hunter and (REDACTED) plan to use proceeds from the Marvin Gaye film to create, fund and produce this play/project. David also leads the due diligence on investments in media, entertainment and business services. David brings more than 20 years' experience in entertainment, film and management to the MGBP fund. He works closely with the portfolio entrepreneurs to raise capital for films, all of whom benefit from his strategic insights and strong analytical capabilities. He is an active designer of apparel, specializing in headwear.

David carries a strong entertainment background, funding fashion shows, concerts and music festivals, as well as high-end private events. As an active philanthropist, David has also raised funding and organized projects for the, "Make A Wish Foundation".

David worked in Germany for several years with his personal friend, and renowned  German singing star, "Xavier Naidoo". He was part of his first tour that launched his career.

David was a consultant for private social clubs and is a certified sommelier. He currently lives in Hawaii but works out of Southern California."

At the time he was promoting that "investment", Hunter was running from a fraud warrant issued in Grand Traverse County, Michigan for a Craigslist rental scam Hunter pulled in 2012.

Hunter's Traverse City, Michigan "Craigslist rental scammer" case

Hunter, a Charlevoix, Michigan native, signed a one-month lease on a Traverse City home in 2012.

But in the short time David Hunter lived there, police say he grew to know its qualities well, giving several tours to potential renters while acting as an owner.

He signed several one-year lease agreements with potential renters and collected six $1,000 payments for security deposits. The leases were to start after he moved out. Renters reportedly contacted police after Hunter offered only excuses of why they couldn't move in on time. They'd heard of the home through a Craigslist ad.

Hunter was arrested, and was free on bond awaiting his upcoming trial. While out on bond, Hunter dropped dirty, testing positive for alcohol. He left Michigan, running like a scared rabbit.

Hunter was captured on July 16, 2013 at a Chicago airport hotel and retuned to Michigan after spending a couple weeks enjoying the accomodations at the Cook County Jail.

 

Hunter takes a plea deal

David Hunter plead guilty in September 2013 to two felony charges of conversion by false pretenses. In return, the Grand Traverse County Prosecutor agreed to drop four additional felony counts.

(Hunter had originally been arrested on November 5, 2012 and charged with six felony counts of false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000 and released on bond November 21.  A bench warrant was issued for Hunter's arrest on December 21, 2012 after he failed to appear at a 1:00pm scheduling conference.)

Hunter parlayed a one-month rental of a home at 412 Wadsworth Street in Traverse City into a Craiglist scam that ensnared six people in his web of deception.

While none of Hunter's Craigslist victims were in court during the October 25, 2013 sentencing hearing, a pre-sentence investigation report and victim impact statements were submitted to Grand Traverse County District Court Judge Phillip E. Rodgers, Jr. for review. According to the official hearing transcript, Hunter's mother, Kathleen, submitted a statement to the court shortly before the hearing.

Hunter's court-appointed attorney, Shawn Worden, objected to the inclusion of "victim impact statements not related to the case". Worden allowed that while that the unrelated "extraneous statements" contained "demeaning things" about Hunter, none had ever resulted in criminal charges or prosecution. Worden argued that the "wild, unsubstantiated" statements not be considered when determining Hunter's sentence.

Grand Traverse County Deputy Civil Counsel Christopher Forsyth countered Worden's objection, defending the statements as important tools in revealing Hunter's attitude toward his "criminal behavior and his social and personal history." 

Forsyth asked Rodgers to consider the additional statements when determining Hunter's sentence.

Worden asked Rodgers to dismiss the "extrinsic victim statement" and their allegations of "big amounts" taken by Hunter and his "atrocious conduct".

With his shaved head shining like the top of New York's Chrysler Building, Hunter withstood Rodgers' withering take on his character. Echoing Worden's comment, Rodgers allowed that he had read "wild, unsubstantiated statements" in Hunter's version of the events.

Rodgers listened as kleptopath Hunter launched into a convoluted tale of how he was simply working "to make his victims whole". Hunter revealed his ignorance of commonly accepted past participles while admitting to Rodgers that he "couldn't stop the web I had weaved from unraveling".

Hunter claimed he had held an open house at the Traverse City property and did not anticipate that six people would all want to rent the property. Claiming to be working with the property management company, Hunter said that he had found substitute properties for five of his prospective tenants.

He told Rodgers that he could produce "emails" that would prove his version of the story if he "could only have access to his computer".

Hunter told the judge about his "two beautiful daughters",  conveniently leaving out the fact that he's woefully behind in child support to the mothers of both children.

Hunter explained that he pulled the Craigslist scam to help his former girlfriend out with some financial "challenges", although he offered no proof of his claim.

When asked by Rodgers why he missed an important court date in early December 2012, Hunter claimed that he had been in Ann Arbor "for his uncle's funeral" and couldn't get back to Traverse City "because it was snowing". Rodgers pushed back, pressing Hunter about missing subsequent court dates and ultimately jumping bond and "running away".

Hunter went on, trying to dazzle Rodgers like he'd tried with his many victims. Full of stories that he'd run companies with "Steve Finnk, a childhood friend I've known since summer camp", Hunter claimed to make anywhere between "$5,000 to $50,000 a month". Hunter even name-checked Walt Doyle, the former CEO of Where, which was acquired in April 2013 by PayPal.

Judge Rodgers interrupted, and reminded Hunter that he was standing next to a "court appointed attorney", and asked Hunter if he was indigent.

Hunter answered and told Rodgers he was.

Reviewing Hunter's version of the events, Rodgers said he didn't know if Hunter was "delusional of the smoothest con man he'd ever met".  Either way, Rodgers said Hunter was "not normal".

David Lee Hunter, the man who in the past had claimed to be a movie producer, a record mogul, a property owner, stood in silence while Rodgers reminded Hunter that he'd never "accepted responsibility" for his Craigslist scam. In addition, the additional victim impact statements indicated that Hunter had a "long history in California and Hawaii" of scamming money from people, and then "walking away from victims left with nothing".

Rodgers cited Hunter's claim of being a "business partner" of New York City Michael Bloomberg as "delusional". Rodgers told Hunter that although he recognized his intelligence, there were no "Mensa cells" in prison. Rodgers told Hunter he could have applied himself to a business, "like Amway", and been legitimately successful.

Rejecting the 10-23 month sentence recommendation, Rodgers stated Hunter was "inconsistently eligible for boot camp" and sentenced him to 23-60 months in prison. In addition, Hunter will have to repay the remaining $8,079.32 in restitution to his victims.

Where is David Hunter today?

Hunter was released from prison on June 16, 2013 after serving a total of 23 months in a Michigan prison. Hunter will be under parole supervision until June 16, 2017.

If you encounter David Lee Hunter, be warned, be aware...and beware!

 

 

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 08/09/2016 03:31 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/david-lee-hunter/charlevoix-michigan/david-lee-hunter-michigan-man-is-a-notorious-con-artist-scammer-swindler-david-hunter-1321471. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

Search for additional reports

If you would like to see more Rip-off Reports on this company/individual, search here:

Report & Rebuttal
Respond to this report!
What's this?
Also a victim?
What's this?
Repair Your Reputation!
What's this?

Updates & Rebuttals

REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
1Author
0Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#1 Author of original report

Additional Information/Correction From Post Author

AUTHOR: - ()

POSTED: Thursday, August 18, 2016

CORRECTION:

Hunter was released from prison on June 16, 2015 after serving a total of 23 months in a Michigan prison, not 2013. Hunter will be under parole supervision until June 16, 2017.

Respond to this report!
What's this?
Featured Reports

Advertisers above have met our
strict standards for business conduct.

X
What do hackers,
questionable attorneys and
fake court orders have in common?
...Dishonest Reputation Management Investigates Reputation Repair
Free speech rights compromised

WATCH News
Segment Now