CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / NEWPORT BEACH

The death of Danny Pang -- an Orange County financier who died last weekend while facing charges of international fraud -- appears to have been a suicide, according to authorities familiar with the case.

Pang was accused of misappropriating millions of dollars from investors and then stashing gold bullion in a hidden safe. He had pleaded not guilty and was free on bail when he was discovered -- unconscious -- in his Newport Beach home.

“We are of the opinion that . . . it appears to be suicide,” said Sgt. Evan Sailor of the Newport Beach Police Department. An autopsy has been completed, but the case is still under investigation pending toxicology results, the Orange County coroner’s office said.

The Taiwan-born investor was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home Sept. 11, police said. He was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, where he was revived, but died the next morning.

-- Ann M. Simmons and Robert J. Lopez