Credit: Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins
Mauricio Umansky has found himself in more legal hot water pertaining to his real estate dealings.
As the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, 53, remains caught up in a legal battle over a $32 million mansion in Malibu, which he reportedly purchased fraudulently in an effort to make a profit, another lawsuit has accused his company, UMRO Realty Corp, also known as The Agency, of knowingly allowing nightmare tenants to live in a $55,000-per-month mansion in Pacific Palisades.
According to an October 26 report from Radar Online, Stephen McPherson filed the lawsuit in an L.A. Superior Court in May 2021, naming Mauricio’s firm and two agents, and accusing the company of moving a married couple with a renter’s history of “contractual fraud” into his $12 million home with a six-month lease.
“At the end of the Lease term (i.e., April 17, 2021) the Tenants refused to vacate the Premises and return possession thereof to the Plaintiffs and to file an unlawful detainer action to regain possession of the Premises from the Tenants,” the suit stated. “Plaintiffs have been forced to incur additional legal fees as a result.”
According to the lawsuit, the tenants caused $1 million in damages to the property, its furniture, the designer clothes and paintings inside, and the garden. They even broke into an off-limits wine cellar, which resulted in $100,000 worth of vintage bottles going missing.
“During their occupancy at the Premises, the (tenants) have engaged in extreme, outrageous and wrongful conduct,” the lawsuit claimed, noting that the couple allegedly went through a storage closet, damaged pricey collector designer clothes, and took artwork off the walls and furniture.
In addition to ravaging through the home’s expensive items, the couple reportedly stole a number of pieces and gave two couches to the housekeeper’s husband.
While it wasn’t Mauricio’s company who did the damage, the homeowner claims they should have known that the couple could pose issues as six previous claims had been made against them. In addition, the company was involved in a 2015 judgment with a $131,000 payout.
“They introduced the Tenants to the Plaintiffs in the Lease Transaction despite the risk of harm evidenced by the (the couples) extensive history of fraud and unlawful detainer; – they brought a shell corporation, represented by a convicted felon to the Plaintiffs as a prospective tenant in the Lease Transaction and they failed to inform the Plaintiffs of those facts,” the lawsuit stated.
In response to the $1 million lawsuit, UMRO denied the homeowner’s claims and filed a cross-complaint against the couple and a shell company used to rent the home.
“Each of the Cross-Defendants were responsible in whole or in part for the injuries, if any suffered by plaintiffs in this case,” the lawsuit stated.
Dancing With the Stars season 32 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.
