Sonoma County prosecutors have charged Sonoma Valley businessman Adam Kovacs with 12 felonies and two misdemeanors, alleging embezzlement and misappropriation of funds in connection with business transactions that occurred at his former Boyes Hot Springs auto dealership, Kovacs Motors.
Kovacs, who was officially informed of the charges during a Wednesday appearance in Sonoma County Superior Court, denies any wrongdoing.
“I’m not a criminal. I’ve lost everything in one year because of a divorce,” he told The Sonoma Index-Tribune as he left the courthouse in Santa Rosa. He has yet to enter a plea but is expected to do that at his next court hearing on Jan. 21.
Kovacs is known in Sonoma and Marin counties for his business network of Sonoma Fit gyms, his purchase of the Sonoma Aquatic Center in Agua Caliente, and his two Kovacs Motors dealerships in Boyes Hot Springs and San Rafael, both of which are now closed.
Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Matt Cheever said the misdemeanor and felony counts stem from “separate cases involving separate incidents and victims,” that are all connected to Kovacs’ car dealership.
Cheever said one of the misdemeanor counts “alleges failing to transfer title and registration … on six vehicles in 2023.”
One of the felony counts, the prosecutor added, entails alleged theft of approximately $50,000 from one victim/customer in 2025.
In addition, Kovacs is charged with 11 felony counts of misappropriation of public money, which involve allegations that he failed to turn over California sales tax on 11 vehicles sold, as well as title and registration fees due to the state DMV from Sept. 2024 to May 2025.
Cheever said these cases were investigated by the DMV.
According to the felony complaint, which was filed Dec.1, Kovacs is accused of grand theft by embezzlement of “money and personal property” valued at $53,441.35 belonging to Brian Olsen.
Olsen, according to Kovacs, had hired him to handle the transfer of Olsen’s vehicle, which was for sale.
In comments to the Index-Tribune, Kovacs called the allegations involving Olsen “a fairy tale of a freaking story. … It’s not a criminal matter. This is a civil matter.”
He said a customer wanted to sell his car on consignment at Kovacs’ Boyes Hot Springs dealership. He said the customer failed to disclose that his car was not in compliance with state smog standards. Kovacs said when he found out he told the customer to get the car fixed. He said the man took the car and never came back to the dealership.
Besides the felony and misdemeanor counts, the prosecution also listed in the complaint “enhancements and special allegations” that could add to any sentence should Kovacs be convicted as charged.
The prosecution contends the “manner in which the crime was carried out indicates planning, sophistication and professionalism” and that Kovacs “took advantage of a position of trust or confidence to commit the offense,” according to court documents.
Kovacs could face more than 16 years in prison, if convicted as charged, Cheever estimated.
The felony complaint describes Kovacs as a “public officer” responsible for “the receipt, safekeeping, transfer, and distribution of public moneys.”
Using that authority, the prosecution contends, he misappropriated the dollar amounts reported in the case for “his personal use or the use of another.”
Of the 12 felony counts, all but one accuse Kovacs of “public officer crime.”
Kovacs told the Index-Tribune he believes the allegations are not criminal but civil issues. He attributed his legal troubles, in part, to a lengthy and contentious divorce case with his former wife, Jennifer Bruen.
Kovacs launched his business empire in 2003 when he opened Kovacs Motors in San Rafael, followed by the second location in Boyes Hot Springs.
In 2014, he expanded into the fitness industry when he and then-wife Bruen co-founded Sonoma Fit, which eventually expanded to a network of gyms with locations in San Rafael, Novato, Sonoma, Mill Valley and Petaluma. The Mill Valley and Petaluma gyms have since shut down.
In 2023, Bruen and Kovacs filed for divorce. Among their disputes was ownership and control of Sonoma Fit.
On Sept. 4, a judge awarded Kovacs sole control of the gym business, according to court records.
Bruen, who is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing, was never involved in Kovacs’ auto dealerships.
