LSD-Fueled Grift Against Malibu Doctor Lands Yoga Teacher In Prison

MALIBU, CA — A yoga instructor-actress on Monday was sentenced to over seven years in prison for defrauding a Malibu ophthalmologist out of more than $2.7 million before the doctor's death, then attempting to siphon over $20 million from his estate after he died as part of an LSD-fueled grift she committed with her boyfriend at the time.

Anna Rene Moore, 41, pleaded guilty last year to seven federal criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud, conspiracy to engage in money laundering and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

She was sentenced on Monday to seven and a half years in prison and ordered to pay $1 million in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Moore's co-defendant — who was his romantic partner at the time — Anthony David Flores, 47, pleaded guilty last year to nine federal felony charges, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. He was sentenced in June to 15 years and eight months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The two were accused of using "false promises and representations" to befriend Dr. Mark Sawusch, who was a successful investor worth more than $60 million, and slowly take control of his life and finances. The trio met by chance at an ice cream shop in June 2017, according to prosecutors.

The physician had "suffered from a mental illness and lost the ability to care for himself," according to prosecutors.

"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," reads a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

By September, Flores had taken over the physician's finances after a mental breakdown resulted in his arrest and detention, the department said. Flores and Moore were accused of diverting the physician's funds to their own accounts and providing him with drugs. Flores and Moore are accused of giving the physician LSD and securing access to his $60-million bank accounts and initiating million-dollar wire transfers to their own bank accounts.

The two left him until the physician died in May 2018 at the age of 57, at which point the two moved back into the Malibu home and withdrew money from his bank accounts, according to prosecutors.

In Sawusch's final days, Flores and Moore gave him LSD, which caused his mental state to severely deteriorate, prosecutors said.

While Sawusch was under the influence of LSD, Flores changed security measures on the doctor's online brokerage account — which was worth $60 million — so he could gain access to it, according to prosecutors.

Four days before the doctor's death, and while Sawusch was still under the influence of LSD, Flores transferred $2 million from the doctor's account into accounts that Flores controlled, according to prosecutors.

Flores and Moore then left the victim, who by this time was in mental distress and had evicted them from his home, prosecutors said. From a luxury hotel paid for with stolen funds, Flores and Moore watched the ophthalmologist's deteriorating mental condition on video cameras installed throughout the Malibu beach house, federal prosecutors say.

In May 2018, Sawusch died in his Malibu home at the age of 57. Following his death, Flores and Moore moved back into the Malibu home and withdrew large sums of money from the dead man's accounts. They also concealed information about the victim's finances from his mother and sister, both of whom lived in Florida. This prompted the victim's family to file a lawsuit, which uncovered the fraud.

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 accounts to thwart Sawusch's estate and court- appointed receiver from recouping the money.

The lawsuit was settled with Flores and Moore agreeing to repay the doctor's estate $1 million, which they have so far failed to do, according to the DOJ.

City News Service contributed to this report.