Views from the 19-story twin Ocean Towers above the seashore in Santa Monica are stellar. However a glance into administration on the 317-unit luxurious co-op is as darkish as a Hollywood movie noir.
A decade-long saga of alleged fraud and manipulation has unfolded on the Ocean Towers condominium advanced at 201 Ocean Boulevard, the Los Angeles Instances reported in a 4,300-word expose.
An internet of deceit entails former figures inside its householders affiliation, together with John Spahi, his son Omar, former HOA President Joseph Orlando, and his late spouse, Dorothy.
Residents of Ocean Towers, inbuilt 1971, had lengthy harbored suspicions about John Spahi’s abuse of energy inside the HOA board.
Allegations included manipulating board elections, draining HOA accounts for private authorized battles and orchestrating inside offers with useful actual property.
The size of the alleged grift got here to mild when a grand jury indicted the Spahis and Orlandos on 119 costs, together with grand theft, identification theft and cash laundering, totaling $5.7 million in stolen funds, in accordance with Los Angeles County prosecutors and the state Lawyer Basic’s workplace.
The fraud allegedly concerned billing the HOA for development tasks that have been by no means accomplished by an organization named Progressive, within the identify of an unwitting proprietor.
Lawsuits and investigations revealed a posh scheme of economic maneuvering, together with transferring models amongst family members and companions and taking out huge loans with out home-owner approval.
Ocean Towers residents confronted intimidation ways, lawsuits and eviction threats when difficult the Spahis and Orlandos.
Regardless of preliminary resistance, some residents, led by Michael Attain and lawyer Jeffrey Wittenberg, took authorized motion in opposition to the entrenched board. Finally, a court-appointed receiver ousted the previous guard, revealing the dire monetary straits of Ocean Towers and the extent of the alleged embezzlement.
Because the authorized battles proceed, the residents seems towards restoration underneath new administration.
Nonetheless, the repercussions of the fraud could linger, with residents burdened by excessive HOA charges and debt incurred in the course of the Spahi period.
In the meantime, John Spahi awaits trial at an unscheduled date, whereas dealing with scrutiny from residents who query how he has evaded accountability for years of alleged misconduct.
— Dana Bartholomew
