Convicted Swindler Erects Illegal Fence on Seaside Property

A chain-link fence on a piece of oceanfront property in Daly City has drawn the ire of residents and the Daly City Council.

San Francisco real estate investor Luke Brugnara allegedly erected an illegal fence around a parcel of land that has been used by locals for its hiking and equestrian trail and access to Thornton State Beach, SFist reported. Brugnara has reportedly been squatting on the land, putting up the fence as a way of making the property private, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The property has reportedly been owned by a local family for decades, but in December, a trust tied to Brugnara purchased the land, the New York Post reported. Brugnara allegedly hung up a sign with a hand-drawn image of a gun and a message that trespassers will be “shot on [sight].”

San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa, who lives nearby, has asked the California Coastal Commission to remove the illegal chain-link fence. If Brugnara isn’t the rightful property owner, the commission’s intervention would not be needed.

It isn’t the first time the real estate investor has made news in the Bay Area. In 2010, Brugnara pleaded guilty to tax evasion and to violating the Endangered Species Act for reportedly poaching steelhead trout and blocking a dam on property he owned in Gilroy.

In 2002, he bought a mansion in San Francisco’s Sea Cliff once owned by actor Cheech Marin and built an illegal staircase down the cliff from the home to a small private beach. A lender sold the manse in 2024 for $7 million, down about $10 million from its 2021 list price and sold with the caveat that the new owner would have to pay to have the staircase removed.

Brugnara stored $11 million in artwork in that home’s garage. He claimed the pieces were gifts that were shipped from a gallery in New York. He was charged and convicted for mail fraud in 2015 after failing to pay for the purchases; the investor represented himself at trial and reportedly was found in contempt for disrupting court proceedings. Brugnara denied any wrongdoing.

— Chris Malone Méndez