Surgeon Dies After Being Defrauded by Yoga Studio Operators | Mark Sawusch Case Analysis

this is Dr Grande today's question is can I analyze the case of Mark Saanich just a reminder I'm not diagnosing about this video only speculating about what could be happening in a situation like this if you enjoyed this video please like it subscribe to my channel and consider supporting me on patreon I'll put the link to patreon in the description for this video first I'll look at the background of this case including the timeline of the alleged crime then offer my analysis Mark sonnage was raised in Florida he attended the University of Chicago and earned a medical degree in 1985 after completing a residency in Baltimore Maryland he moved to Los Angeles California Mark worked as an eye surgeon in a private practice off Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades he married and divorced twice and did not have any children the second divorce was in 2015. Mark lived in Malibu his two-bedroom 1200 square foot house was right on the Pacific Ocean Mark had a long career and was tremendously successful he also was quite fortunate with his Investments and ended up with a net worth of over 60 million dollars over time Mark was no longer inspired by his work in the private practice for the most part he performed these same tasks every day and found it to be tedious in addition Mark developed various mental health symptoms he had episodes of mania and depression and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was manic he experienced difficulty sleeping and would spend a tremendous amount of money for example he bought hundreds of pairs of shoes which he never used his feelings of depression also caused a lot of distress remark on Labor Day weekend in 2015 Mark was having thoughts of self-harm he went to an emergency room at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica and said I'm not safe I need help he was transported to a mental hospital where he spent a couple of days on one occasion in April 2016 Mark did not show up to work as expected his co-workers called emergency services and requested a welfare check when paramedics arrived at Mark's house in Malibu they found him to be disoriented they described him as very confused and altered he was in a room filled with empty medication bottles syringes and marijuana Mark was once again treated at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica he asked the nurses why does everyone hate me here the clinicians at the hospital reported that Mark was confused paranoid and delusional Mark was released from the hospital and resumed his life in November 2016 he once again failed to show up for work when the paramedics arrived at his house this time they found him on his living room floor surrounded by Broken Glass there were injuries all over his body including scratches cuts and burns medical professionals would later say there were too many injuries to count Mark's left forearm had marks on it as if he had been burned by a grill Mark was treated at Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Westwood he gave the clinicians there several different stories about what happened to him in one story he started feeling unwell after standing up from playing the piano he fell and cut himself on the bench as he tried to get back up he knocked over a glass and was electrocuted by the pianos power cord clinicians had a different theory about what happened they believed that Mark's injuries were self-inflicted Mark's hands were permanently damaged from the Burns he sustained he was unable to perform surgery it didn't take long for his private practice to fall apart paychecks to his employees did not clear and he wasn't paying the rent on his office Mark ended up spending more time at home after his career disintegrated he had another manic episode which led to a caretaker calling 9-1-1 the police found Mark shouting from inside his bathroom as Mark opened the bathroom door for the police it struck one of the officers they noticed that Mark was naked he said quote you aren't the real police blank you unquote after the police ordered Mark to calm down he made a surprising declaration Mark said quote I am God my birthday is when the universe was created unquote he then aggressively stepped toward the police who responded by shooting him with a taser and handcuffing him Mark later kicked a firefighter who tried to examine him after being transported to a mental hospital Mark was assessed by clinicians they determined that he was not God but rather grossly psychotic after being released Mark continued to struggle with his mental health he went to an addiction treatment center in Malibu spent some time in a hospital in Las Vegas and ended up in a mental hospital in Torrance California on Friday June 23 2017 two weeks after he was released Mark went to an organic ice cream shop in Venice Beach when he was there he met two strangers who would change his life Anthony Flores and Anna Moore let's take a look at the background of this couple Anthony Flores had spent his younger years in Fresno and graduated from high school he started a window washing business and worked as a hair stylist in Los Angeles he referred to himself as a global hairdresser he often used the name Anton David instead of Anthony Flores Anna Moore grew up not far from Berkeley she attended New York University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in theater and politics after that she studied acting at the Royal Academy of dramatic arts in London she tried to find success as an actress but only landed small roles in 2012 Anthony and Anna met at a yoga studio in Santa Monica and became romantically involved Anna joined Anthony in his window washing business and the couple ran a yoga studio and looking at the photographs of this couple I think they missed a big opportunity in Hollywood they could have found work as body doubles for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard moving back to the couple's encounter with Mark after meeting at the ice cream shop in Venice Beach Mark Anthony and Anna consumed ice cream together despite not knowing the couple Anthony invited them to his house in Malibu so they could all watch the sunset that night he gave Anthony keys to his Tesla Anthony and Anna used this vehicle to drive to Yosemite for the weekend when they returned to Los Angeles they texted Mark and asked when they could swing by his house Mark texted them a lengthy reply where he indicated that they were his personal 9-1-1 he invited the couple to move into his house the deal was that the couple would support Mark's mental health in exchange for not paying rent the couple said they wanted to be of great service Mark also appeared to be excited about the plan he said the couple represented quote the best friends I've ever had in my entire life unquote unfortunately for Mark this new Arrangement did not improve his behavior on July 4 2017 Mark allegedly attacked someone at the Santa Monica Pier he was arrested and spent six days in a mental health facility Anna and Anthony picked him up and brought him back to his house about three weeks later Mark called the police and told them that he wanted the couple out of his house Mark texted a friend an explanation for his change of heart saying that he realized the couple were tax fraud criminals who tried to steal his Tesla and his house Mark also sent strongly worded text messages directly to Anthony he called Anthony and his girlfriend Devils mutants and pathetic con artists he advised them to rotten hell and said they would be hearing from the IRS and his Pitbull attorneys Anthony replied with the text that read quote mellow out my friend unquote Mark's behavior continued to get him in trouble he was arrested at a restaurant which was in walking distance from his house he was charged with failing to pay for a meal and public intoxication two days later he allegedly threw rocks at Vehicles driving on Pacific Coast Highway and consequently was arrested for felony vandalism he spent seven weeks in a Los Angeles jail Mark refused to take medication and flooded his cell with water even though Mark had plenty of money his family refused to post his forty thousand dollar Bond they hoped that the time in jail would keep Mark out of trouble Anthony re-established contact with Mark and suggested that Mark Grant him power of attorney so that Anthony could withdraw Mark's money to post the bond after being released Mark invited Anthony and Anna back into his house Mark was happy to be out of jail the couple started caring for Mark using several New Age techniques there was a lot of marijuana and alcohol being consumed in the house on Fridays Anthony and Anna would throw a moon party and Anthony hired about 20 workers including several massage therapists who gave Mark up to six massages each day one massage could last up to two hours so potentially he was spending 12 hours a day getting massages Anthony retained power of attorney which allowed him and his girlfriend to spend Mark's money they hired private chefs and hosted an Oscar party at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills Anthony opened a joint bank accounts with Mark and transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to himself and his girlfriend as this was going on Mark was regularly getting infusions of ketamine to treat back pain and depression Mark was also using magic mushrooms and LSD all receiving his 43rd infusion of ketamine that's four three Mark demonstrated manic behavior later he became disoriented he was talking to himself and rocking back and forth despite Mark's manifestation of worrisome symptoms Anthony and Anna made an unusual decision on Friday May 25 2018. they left Mark's house and rented a room in the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica Anthony monitored Mark using surveillance cameras in Mark's house various people were still with Mark like massage therapists and a cook on May 26 Anthony and Anna received reports about Mark's behavior which were unsettling like that Mark was pacing back and forth talking to himself asking for a hammer and through a Coke Zero out the door to be fair given its taste many people would view throwing a Coke Zero out of a door as appropriate instead of attending to Mark the couple decided to spend the day shopping they spent almost six thousand dollars at various stores on Sunday May 27 2018 two massage therapists discovered that 57-year-old Mark sonnish was not breathing one of them called Anthony Flores he in turn called 9-1-1 and told the operator quote I believe that my friend has died in our house unquote when First Responders arrived at Mark's house they found his body between a coffee table and a sofa the autopsy results indicated that Mark died from two heart conditions the drugs in a system did not appear to significantly contribute to his death on Tuesday May 29 the first day that Banks were open after a mark died Anthony withdrew three hundred thousand dollars from a joint bank account with Mark he would later transfer another seven hundred thousand dollars Mark's mother and sister threw Anthony and Anna out of Mark's house and obtain a court order to track down the money that the couple had liberated a few hours after the court order took effect Anthony and Anna drove around Los Angeles trying to withdraw more money from Banks after being sued the couple agreed to repay one million dollars to Marx estate not surprisingly they did not repay the money the magical romance between Anthony and Anna came to an end in 2021 I guess their Mutual commitment to yoga did not translate into them bending over backwards in the relationship on December 15 2022 the couple was indicted in connection with stealing almost three million dollars from Mark charges included conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to engage in money laundering 46 year old Anthony and 39 year old Anna were arrested and pleaded not guilty at the time making this video they maintained the presumption of innocence now moving to my analysis the case against Anthony and Anna may seem strong at first glance but there is a possibility it could get murky Anthony's attorney implied that the state was exaggerating how incapacitated Mark really was there is this idea that even though Mark had bipolar disorder he knew what he was doing he wanted this couple to keep him company he wanted their services and he was okay with them spending his money with this in mind let's take a look at the evidence both for and against the idea that Anthony and Anna were guilty starting with the incorpatory factors the couple took large sums of Mark's money both before and after he died they lived an extravagant lifestyle using his money they arranged for Mark to be preoccupied with massage therapists for up to 12 hours a day they appeared to encourage the use of drugs like LSD they told his mother not to contact Mark and prevented County caseworkers from meeting with them and they did not appear to be broken up over his death moving to the X copulatory factors Mark was pretty lonely when he met the couple he did not have hardly any friends and reported feeling isolated Mark longed for a life full of relationships he wanted people to be around him all the time he wanted his house to come alive with activity Mark's behavior was out of control prior to meeting the couple he was non-compliant with medication and had a history of incoherent and aggressive behavior Mark also drank excessive quantities of alcohol as far as his use of ketamine this was overseen by a medical professional none of the drugs he used contributed to his death in any meaningful way when considering the evidence do I think that the couple was guilty yes it seems clear that they took advantage of Mark's condition they grabbed his money both before and after his death they even claimed that they were promised a third of his estate greed appears to be the motive here moving to the next question what do I think happened in this case this is just a theory my opinion due to Mark's bipolar disorder and his loneliness he was immediately attracted to the idea of having Anthony and Anna in his life their interest in New Age philosophy and their affinity for drugs promised to make his life quite exciting unfortunately for Mark the couple was more excited about his money than about helping him after Mark kicked them out of his house the couple knew that he had the capacity to become suspicious and take action based on his suspicions when they are able to work their way back into his life by posting the bonds using his money they made an effort to keep Mark distracted with drugs while he was in this vulnerable state they harmed him in two distinct ways taking his money and serving him vegan meals the couple had a sense of entitlement and grandiosity perhaps they convinced themselves that they deserved Mark's money in exchange for their new age nonsense services I think the couple left the Malibu house because Mark was going to kick them out anyway and they wanted to keep the party going I don't think it was related to his death because they could not have predicted that Mark's death appears to have been a coincidence now moving to my final thoughts bipolar disorder is an incredibly cruel Affliction this disorder elevates people to extreme highs and then drives them to extreme lows it makes people forget that they need treatment and support it grants a temporary feeling of invulnerability and greatly amplifies sensation seeking and impulsivity it causes a person to destroy themselves in the pursuit of unending joy and happiness even with support this disorder can be challenging to manage but with a greedy couple looking to steal every dollar Mark had little chance to protect himself those are my thoughts on the case of Mark sonnish please put any opinions and thoughts in the comment section they always generate an interesting dialogue as always I hope you found my analysis of this topic to be informative thanks for watching

Channel: Dr. Todd Grande

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Length: 17min 22sec (1042 seconds)

Published: Tue May 16 2023