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Landlord Thomas Aquilina and Property Manager German Maldonado colluded to evict over 20 tenants at 26th and Lucky in the Mission
Yat Pang Au's empire: Thousands of rental units in San Francisco (Veritas / GreenTree Properties)
Emily Benkert is one of many "hosts" who offer "their" many "homes" to guests.
David Bellings owns 20 properties in San Francisco
Paul and Peter Berger have evicted 13 units in San Francisco.
Elba Borgen is a serial evictor and speculator.
HELENE DE BAUBIGNY & JOHN GOLOB - San Francisco Evictors
Antonio Castellucci evictions
Benny Chetcuti Jr. has gained notoriety for his rampant evictions.
Benny Chetcuti, Jr. has Ellis Acted at least 48 units in San Francisco, often in collaboration with Gerald W. Filice, Chetcuti & Associates, Inc., of which he was President, and Jomorson Properties, of which he was also President. Chetcuti has been heavily reprimanded perpetuating fraud upon at least 114 victims who suffered an alleged aggregate loss of $28 million or more. In 2004, he notoriously Ellis Act evicted seniors and a tenant with AIDS from 838 Potrero through Chetcuti & Associates. He has been known to issue Ellis Act evictions after one day of buying a building.
Affiliated corporations (many inactive)
Chetcuti and Associates, Inc. - President, Active
Jomorson Properties, Inc. - President
Bates Chetcuti Monchek, Inc. - President
Falcon Capital Management LLC
Falcon Fund One LLC
O'Hara Handicapped Awarness Recreation America Foundation (O'Hara) - Director
71-73A Woodward Street Partners, L.P.
19-23 Woodward Street Partners, L.P.
55-63A Woodward Street Partners, L.P.
25-29 Woodward Street Partners, L.P.
76-80 Woodward Street Partners, L.P.
Chetcuti and Associates, which specializes in investment services, is located at: 1204 Alpine Rd, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone: (925) 933-6575
FRAUD CHARGES
On November 16, 2011, the State of California Business Transportation and Housing Agency Department of Corporations ordered him a DESIST AND REFRAIN ORDER for violations of California Corporations Code sections 25110 and 25401. Significantly, he "made untrue statements of material fact and/or omitted to state material facts to the investors in [Chetcuti and Associates, Inc.]" He promised seven investors both money, promissory notes, and/or “possession and ownership” of housing units that were never delivered. He was also accused of forgery. The order commanded, "Pursuant to section 25532 of the Corporate Securities Law of 1968, Chetcuti and Associates, Inc. and Benny Chetcuti, Jr. are hereby ordered to desist and refrain from the further offer or sale in the State of California of securities, including but not limited to promissory notes, unless and until qualification has been made under the law. . . . Pursuant to section 25532 of the Corporate Securities Law, Chetcuti and Associates, Inc. and Benny Chetcuti, Jr. are hereby ordered to desist and refrain from offering or selling or buying or offering to buy any security in the state of California, including but not limited to the issuance of promissory notes by means of any written or oral communication which includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading."
On September 12, 2013 in Chokatos v. Magnate Fund # 1 CA1/3, plaintiffs alleged that "defendant Benny Chetcuti, Jr., represented himself as an experienced real estate developer offering safe investment opportunities in his projects when, in fact, he was operating a Ponzi scheme with John Simonse and their related companies. According to plaintiffs’ complaints, Chetcuti and his company Chetcuti & Associates, Inc. (collectively, Chetcuti) 'borrowed money from his victims, usually short term loans, with the promise of high . . . returns.' Chetcuti signed promissory notes and issued deeds of trust to properties owned by himself or other entities' to secure the loans. Before recording the lenders’ deeds of trust, Chetcuti issued and recorded deeds of trust in favor of Simonse and related entities on unfunded sham loans “that would totally encumber the property.' 'Simonse and his other entities would then foreclose on the properties, leaving the victims without any security for their loans, and defendant Simonse and his entities would have free and clear title to the properties, without actually making any loans. Defendant Simonse would then create new entities, and transfer title of the foreclosed properties to the newly created entities, without any consideration, to make the properties even more removed and difficult for the creditors and victims of defendant Chetcuti to recover the security for their loans.' 'When defendant Chetcuti could not find enough investors to pay for various other loans, the scheme collapsed, leaving his victims with unpaid promissory notes with no security for their loans.' Chetcuti filed for bankruptcy. According to plaintiff Chokatos, Chetcuti perpetrated fraud upon at least 114 victims who suffered an aggregate loss of $28 million or more."
A list of contract breach and other cases can be found here.
Chetcuti is responsible for Ellis Act evicting the following buildings:
945 Capp Street (4 units) - Petition L040056, January 9, 2004. Chetcuti & Associates, Inc. with Gerald W. Filice.
1088 - 1090 Capp Street (3 units) - Petition L031140, September 4, 2003. Chetcuti & Associates, Inc. with Gerald W. Filice.
838 - 842 Potrero Avenue (5 units) - Petition L041115, September 9, 2004. Chetcuti & Associates, Inc. with Gerald W. Filice.
226 27th Street (11 units) - Petition L070844, March 20,2007. Chetcuti & Associates, Inc. with Gerald W. Filice.
2671 - 2677 Bryant Street (4 units) - Petition L060534, March 29, 2006. Chetcuti & Associates, Inc. with Gerald W. Filice.
1419 - 1425 South Van Ness Avenue (4 units) - Petition L050662, April 16, 2005. Chetcuti & Associates, Inc. with Gerald W. Filice.
55 - 63 Woodward Street (5 units) - Petition L050660, April 15, 2005. 55-63A Woodward Street Partners, L. P., Jomorson Properties.
71 - 73 Woodward Street (2 units) - Petition L041318, October 19, 2004.71-73A Woodward Street Partners, L.P., Jomorson Properties.
76 - 80 Woodward Street (3 units) - Petition L041317. 76-80 Woodward Street Partners, L.P., Jomorson Properties.
25 - 29 Woodward Street (3 units) - Petition L040912, July 16, 2004. 25-29 Woodward Street Partners, L.P., Jomorson Properties.
54 - 56 Woodward Street (2 units) - Petition L040927, July 16, 2004. 54-56B Woodward Street Partners, L.P., Jomorson Properties.
Currently, he is listed as selling 27 properties in San Francisco on Blockshoper, some in collaboration with Kimberly M. Chetcuti (family trust), Benny Chetcuti Sr. and Rose G. Chetcuti (Trustee), Family Bypass Trust Chetcuti, Samuel M Chetcuti, and Chetcuti & Assoc.
Julie and Jason Chan, bypassing the law to Mission tenants a lifetime lease.
BJ (Betty J Droubi) attracted our attention with her market-driven description of the neighborhood. Clearly their building purchase is an investment in a trendy neighborhood rather than a commitment to a community they dreamt of and saved their whole lives for.
Sean M. Conway is the co-founder and CEO of AirEnvy, a concierge service that manages vacation-rentals.
WB Coyle has gone to jail on account of his fraudulent schemes. Now is out, and possible back to it.
Martin Coyne - Evictor
Dattani is a speculator and evictor, who primarily targets Latino residents in the Mission.
Kaushik "Ken" Mulji Dattani is currently Ellis Act evicting Patricia Kerman and Tom Rapp from their home at 3305 20th Street. Patricia is a disabled senior and the two have been roommates there for fifteen years. At a recent protest outside of his office. Protesters, including Tom who had an appointment with Dattani and Co., entered the building to deliver a letter asking Dattani to drop the eviction, but were met by men with baseball bats. Ken Dattani works with CPA Tej K. Dattani.
This is not Dattani's first Ellis Act. In 2009, twelve tenants from 3465 19th Street (at Lexington) were Ellis Acted by Dattani. They had lived there from between five to 32 years, and had deep ties to the Mission community. This included Hilda Lisa Vasquez, an 82-year-old who woke up every day at 6:00 a.m. to clean the neighboring sidewalk.
Dattani and Company's Office: (415) 546-1238
Cell: 415-724-0888
Business address: 3232 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94110
E-mail: kaushik@dattani.net
Addresses that Dattani has Ellis Acted include:
3305-3321 20th Street - 9 units. Petition L131379. 8/16/2013
3465 - 3469 19th Street - 3 units. Petition L0719642007, 12/5/2007.
3224 - 3248 22nd Street - 13 units. Petition L071559. 10/10/2007.
Affiliated LLCs
Diva Investments - Managing Member, along with Tet Dattani
Dattani & Company - Principal of the Co., of which Karen Castilo serves as Director of Operations
Jake's Steaks, LLC
Haveli Inc. - President
363 Valencia, LLC
CA1INVESTMENT Company
Dattani currently owns and/or is selling the following property:
1318 Battery Street
Buyer: Kapu Properties LLC
Seller: Kaushik Dattani, Sale
685 Capp Street
San Francisco-Mission, CA 94110
Owner: Kaushik Dattani, Property
135 Great Circle Drive
Buyer: Kaushik M Dattani (Trustee) and Qualified Personal Residential Dattani (Trust)
Seller: Kaushik M Dattani, Sale
4036 18th Street
San Francisco-Castro/Upper Market, CA 94114
Owner: Kaushik M Dattani Property
135 Great Circle Drive
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Owner: Kaushik M Dattani (Trustee), Property
1318 Battery Street
Richmond (Unincorporated), CA 94801
Owner: Kapu Properties LLC, Property
1318 Battery Street
Buyer: Kaushik M Dattani
Seller: Wells Fargo Bank (Trustee), Sale
135 Great Circle Drive
Buyer: Kaushik M Dattani
Seller: Kaushik M Dattani (Trustee) and Qualified Personal Residential Dattani (Trust) Sale
4038 18th Street
San Francisco-Castro/Upper Market, CA 94114
Owner: Tej Dattani
Nina Geneson Otis - Abusing short term rentals with Bernat Pons in San Francisco.
Gujral gained notoriety for his foreclosure evictions. Next he and Rhodes used the Ellis Act.
Gujral attempted to evict a 10-unit building at 23rd and Florida Street in the Mission through his newly formed 2882-2898 1/2 St. LLC, which lists Todd W. Rhodes as its registered agent, and Caareal Investments as the member corporation. Rhodes also lists Cw Rhodes Trustee of The Cw Rhodes Trust, headquartered in Milford, MI, as a key member of the LLC. The business address is listed at 2010 Ocean Ave Ste E, San Francisco, CA 94127, the same address that Gujral houses all of his LLCs.
The Ellis Act was petitioned on September 6, 2013 under L131462. Many of the residents of the building are immigrants. Some are 1st and 2nd generation and grew up in the building; some have lived there for 46 years.
This was Gujral’s first involvement with an Ellis Act, though he is responsible for the displacement of many other people through foreclosures. Infamously, in December 2010 his True Compass LLC attempted to remove Josephine Tolbert, a 75-year-old great-grandmother and cancer survivor who makes her living offering child-care for low-income families. She had owned the house since 1973. Extensive protests, including a crucial protest in front of the Roti Bistro on West Portal Avenue, which is co-owned by Ash K. Gujral, prevented her dispossession.
Gujral's Home Address: 230 SAN BENITO WAY | SAN FRANCISCO | CA | 94127
Phone: 415-664-1994
Restaurant Business Address: ROTI INDIAN BISTRO, 53 WEST PORTAL AVE.| SAN FRANCISCO | CA | 94127 | 415-665-ROTI
LLC Business Address: 2010 OCEAN AVE STE E | SAN FRANCISCO | CA | 94127
LLCs that he is a member of:
50 BRONTE, LLC - Managing Member
TRUE VISION, LLC - Managing Member
260 LEE AVENUE, LLC - Managing Member
2882 - 2898 1/2 23RD ST. LLC
GROWTH EQUITY PARTNERS LLC
HAVELOCK STREET PARTNERS, LLC
SF REALTY PARTNERS, LLC
40 LAPIDGE STREET PARTNERS, LLC
421 - 423 OAK STREET, LLC
ROTI INDIAN BISTRO, LLC
168 SICKELS AVENUE, LLC
REBUILD PARTNERS, LLC
Some of these LLCs have played notorious roles in displacing people through foreclosures.
50 BRONTE LLC
Purchased at least three foreclosed San Francisco residential properties through agents.
Invested in 956 CAYUGA AVE which lender DEUTSCHE BK NATL TRUST CO TR sold at foreclosure auction probably to auction investors Thomas Redmond and Steve on September 14, 2012.
Invested in 800 DARTMOUTH ST which lender JP MORGAN CHASE BANK N A sold at foreclosure auction probably to auction investors Thomas Redmond and Steve on September 5, 2012.
Invested in 450 POPE ST which lender BANK OF AMERICA sold at foreclosure auction probably to an unknown investor on 20120307.
Address listed as 2010 OCEAN AVE E, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127.
Managing member listed as Susan Gujral, Ash's wife and business partner. Susan Lynn Gujral is an interior designer and owns her own business RE+Habit Design, LLC.
phone: (415) 680-8574
fax: (415) 520-0474
email: info@rehabitdesign.com
address: 236 West Portal Avenue, # 264, San Francisco, CA 94127
TRUE COMPASS LLC
Purchased at least four foreclosed San Francisco residential properties.
Invested in at least two foreclosed residential properties outside San Francisco.
Invested in 1020 MUNICH ST which lender WELLS FARGO BANK N A sold at foreclosure auction to an unidentified investor on 20121002.
Invested in 201 CAYUGA AVE which lender WELLS FARGO BANK N A sold at foreclosure auction to an unidentified investor on 20120426.
Invested in 960 BUSH ST 212 which lender JP MORGAN CHASE BANK N A sold at foreclosure auction to an unidentified investor on 20120419.
Invested in 150 ANKENY ST which lender CITIBANK N A (loan owner must have been Bank of America) sold at foreclosure auction to an unidentified investor on 20110902.
Address listed as 2010 OCEAN AVE E, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127.
Registered agent listed as Ash Gujral.
Starting in San Francisco as an illegal sublettor of a small apartment, Haber moved into Oakland with financial backing and has managed to displace hundreds of people in artist housing, small apartments and SRO hotels. Haber markets the properties he manages as “tech dorms” and has passed himself off as a developer through the Gutman app “OWow.”
JACK HALPRIN - Google Evictor
Serial evictor of multiple San Francisco tenants. Works for VANGUARD PROPERTIES.
David Brenkus is an artist living in the Duboce Triangle. He is also a cabinetmaker who lovingly cared for his home, investing thousands of hours repairing and renovating it over the 34 years he has lived there. When the previous owners went bankrupt in the Great Financial Crisis in 2008 and became tenants in their own property, the new owners, the Harshawats, bought the property in a foreclosure sale at a distressed price and forced them out. Now they are evicting David and his long time roommate David Raish. Emma Acker, the wife of Ish Harshawat and assistant curator of American Art at the De Young Museum, is also one of the evictors.
Ted Hulbush and Ron Jankov are San Francisco serial evictors.
Brian and Sam Hunt and their respective wives, Erica and Diana have made a fortune flipping San Francisco properties, converting multi-unit buildings into single unit luxury homes, and lately evicting tenants. After buying a massive home in Ross, they turned to the notoriously sleazy evictor attorney Andrew Zacks, to help them heighten their profiteering. With evictions at 306-308b Bartlett and 1964 Larkin Street, they add human suffering to their portfolio toolbox.
Sergio Iantorno has gained notoriety as a slumlord and evictor for two decades.
Notorious Mission District landlord Robert Imhoff of Landmark Realty has filed Ellis Act eviction notices at a 12-unit building on 3301-3311 Cesar Chavez Street (at South Van Ness). The mass evictions primarily target Latino families and include a tenant who has lived in their home since 1969.
Peter Iskandar
Iveli and Sigmund were forced to give up being landlords in New York after being apprehended for egregious activity. Now they are terrorizing tenants in San Francisco.
Owner of warehouses in Oakland, Jacobson lets property fall into disrepair. Lately he has been emptying buildings of tenants in order to convert to market rate units.
Justin Douglas Wallway is attempting to use the "substantial rehab" loophole to displace tenants in 13 buildings in Oakland
After purchasing a mansion in Piedmont, JS Kalmbach doubled rents on low income households in East Oakland.
Pamela Kelley, a real estate agent, began her vacation rental business by promising her own landlord that she would give up her rent-controlled apartment if she could rent it our year-round as a vacation rental, for a part of the profit.
Angel Investor and real estate "entrepreneur," Sarosh Kumana is the new owner of the Claridge Hotel, the largest SRO Hotel in Oakland. There have been a large number of evictions at the Claridge, and there seems to be some re-vamping of the hotel with the introduction of Pinecrest Apartments. He is the owner of SFRents, holding many multi-unit properties in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Profiting from Poverty
The Mannings permanently reside in Nashville TN. Charles is the Chancellor of the University of West Virginia System and Tennessee Board of Regents in Nashville. His wife describes him as “a very gentle and gracious man who cares deeply about education. Yet with state resources strained to the limit these days, public education is a highly politicized enterprise, with increasing competition for decreasing dollars.”
So after enacting those tough austerity cuts on the students, Sharon “whisk(s) Charles out to San Francisco for a little break.” (To one of six homes.) - VRBO listing #388407
On April 23, 2014, the City Attorney sued Darren and Valerie Lee for illegal conversions and unlawful business practices. The Lees Ellis Act evicted disabled tenants to illegally convert residential apartments into tourist lodging.
After threatening them with eviction, Daniel from Washington DC bought out the tenants of 532-34 Shotwell Street. According to neighbors, one family had resided in their home on Shotwell for many years.
The Lembi family - Veritas LLC. In it's previous incarnation as CitiApartments and Lembi properties, Veritas made headlines with “a stunning array of unlawful business and tenant harassment practices” during the lawsuit and subsequent injunction obtained by City Attorney Herrera.
The 50-unit Sierra Hotel above T-Mobile was vacant for years, prompting Homes Not Jails squatters to invade in a 2011 protest. Two years ago, it became home to 20Mission, a tech and artist live-work space. Still an SRO on the city’s books, the very symbol of downtrodden San Francisco has become a different kind of symbol: a techie dorm.
On Maximus Real Estate Partners, by the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project.
David McCloskey, Tom McCloskey, Urban Green Investments, Cornerstone Holding - Evictor of multiple San Francisco tenants including Mary Elizabeth Phillips.
Matthew Miller garnered international attention for his eviction of the Lee family in 2012.
Evictions
450-454 Waller St, 3 Buy Out and Breach evictions through 450 Waller LLC in 2017
1504-1510 Jackson Street, 8 units Ellis Act evicted through 1506 Jackson LLC in 2012
32-40 Varennes Street, 6 units Ellis Act evicted through 32 Varennes LLC in 2008
Matthew Miller, Evictor of the Lee family
Adam Phillips, Serial Evictor, San Francisco
Prana Investments is associated with close to 1000 evictions in Oakland
William J. Rosetti is associated with over one hundred companies, LLCs and real estate partnerships across the San Francisco Bay Area. Rosetti's companies are associated with over 4000 eviction notices in Alameda County over a five year period, and more than 500 Unlawful Detainers over ten years. Rosetti sits on Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s “Housing Cabinet”
Bonnie Spindler, Zephyr Real Estate serial evictor
The Sridhars own property all over the bay area, including one building in Alameda with 33 families, whom the Sridhars saw fit to evict en mass.
The list of Oakland properties in the hands of Neil Sullivan’s LLCs is staggering. According to Rent Board data, Sullivan served over 357 eviction notices in five years. Reo Homes acquired hundreds of Oakland single family homes in the foreclosure crisis.
Using a number of aliases and family members to do OMI (Owner Move In) evictions on multiple properties, she is also known to threaten, harass, turn of water, cut lines, create "House Rules", and violate building codes. OMI evictions at these properties: 3947 18th Street #5, 3947 18th Street #1, 195 Eureka #4, 650 Church. She is known in the Los Angeles area as well, and has a series of suspended LLCs.
The Taplins are associated with at least 555 Oakland evictions under numerous LLCs. The Taplins are also launching large market rate development projects in East Oakland.
Anthony Theophilos is a real estate attorney who sits on the Piedmont Planning Commission, acts as a court-appointed receiver for distressed properties, and advises and publishes on real estate matters for the Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB). Patricia Theophilos is a senior banking executive and consultant, having worked at Bank of the Orient, US Bank, Pacific National Bank and Citicorp Real Estate. Together and through their LLCs, they have served 217 eviction notices on their three Oakland properties.
Shelley Trew protesters accused real estate agent Shelley Trew of “fraud, elder abuse, and greed” for coercing the 76-year-old owner of the house at 117 Ripley St. into signing over the rights to her family home in 2013
Headquarters: 1746 Union St, SF, CA
CEO: David McCloskey, age 36, lives in Sausalito, CA and possibly SF, CA
Chairman: Thomas D. McCloskey, lives in Aspen, CO and 1919 Sacramento St in San Francisco. David’s father.
President, and Co-founder: Peter Lynch.
Lawyer: Michael Karpowicz. Married to Devon McCloskey, David’s sister.
* Urban Green Investments is a subsidiary of Cornerstone Holdings LLC based in Broomfield, CO. CEO is Thomas D. McCloskey.
San Francisco Multi-family portfolio: 385 units over fifteen buildings.
Recently purchased since October 2012: 130 unit multi-family portfolio in San Francisco and 40 TIC units in San Francisco.
In July 2012 UGI picked up a 12-building multifamily portfolio for $38 Million cash from Prana Investments.
Using a number of LLCs, UGI is currently displacing residents from the following buildings:
1070 Post St. (6 units) - Ellised on 1/31/13 by 1070 Post Street, LLC. Petition L130141
49-53 Guerrero St. (3 units) - Ellised on 5/17/13 by 49 Guerrero Street, LLC. Petition: L130760
55 Dolores St. (5 units) Ellised on 4/8/2013 by 55 Dolores Street, LLC. Petition L130542
566-576 Lombard St. (14 units) - Ellised 2/4/13 by 566 Lombard Street, LLC and 568 Lombard Street, LLC. Petition L130157
1330 Mason St. (8 units) - Tenants cajoled out and sold units as TICs
943 Jackson St. (12 units) - Sold off after some tenants left.
1071-77 Treat St. (4 units) - Only one tenant remaining after all the others were bought or harassed out.
Thomas D. McCloskey, Chairman & CEO of Cornerstone Holdings (CO) and McCloskey and Company (HI), and Chairman of UGI (SF), has served as general partner in over 50 partnerships and been involved in a variety of diverse business activities, and high-level strategic development of technology companies and wireless communications markets for the past thirty years.
Bonnie P. McCloskey, partner of Tom at Cornerstone Investments,
and David’s mother, gave over $50k to McCain Palin race, and then Romney.
Peter Lynch, cofounder of UGI and UGI President, did 3 Ellises in 1999 under his own name or as Lynch Associates
“Whether you're new to the Valley, bored with your current housing or need a transient place... I would like to help. When you reserve with me, you'll have instant friends and be part of a network of 12 homes in the Bay Area.”
Digerati dorms
KAREN WICKRE & GILLIAN GILLETT - Tech evictors of San Francisco
Kwok Chung Wong & Luk Har Kwan - Dirty Dozen serial evictors in San Francisco
Noel Yi, Oakland speculator is trying to evict the Afrikatown Community Garden.
The Yurovsky Family - 6 formerly rent controlled units on VRBO and AirBNB.