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This story was up to date after publishing with an up to date remark from Douglas Elliman and feedback from Matt and Heather Altman.
Amidst management upheaval on the East Coast, Douglas Elliman’s Western Area can be beneath fireplace for alleged kickbacks and preferential remedy towards the Altman Brothers Crew in two LA Superior Courtroom lawsuits filed in October.
The lawsuits have surfaced as all eyes have been on Elliman after former CEO Howard Lorber’s abrupt retirement final week, which was adopted up by the surprising termination of brokerage President and CEO Scott Durkin.
Now Stephen Kotler who leads Elliman’s Western brokerage operations can be being positioned beneath scrutiny in a pair of authorized actions, The Actual Deal reported on Thursday.
In a lawsuit filed by former Newport Seaside workplace Government Supervisor of Gross sales Christina Carrillo, the previous supervisor, who resigned earlier in October, alleged that credit had not been reported on closing statements in an effort to inflate the commissions of sure brokers. Carrillo additionally calls out the Altman Brothers Crew, alleging that the group acquired purchasers from different brokers’ and brokers’ energetic listings.
Josh Altman, Matt Altman and Heather Altman haven’t been named as defendants in both lawsuit.
Carrillo additional alleged that when she introduced up these points to Kotler, he disregarded them. She can be suing Kotler for sexual harassment and retaliation.
“Enough Christi. I have made millions from the Altman Brothers, so shut up,” the lawsuit alleges that Kotler advised Carrillo. “If other agents and brokers get fucked over, I don’t care, so be it.”
Douglas Elliman asserted that it had by no means obtained sexual harassment complaints from Carrillo.
“Had any such complaints been received, those complaints would have been thoroughly investigated consistent with our policies and procedures, as has been the case with complaints made from time to time against others at the Company over the years. Douglas Elliman is committed to fostering a workplace environment that is safe, comfortable and free of sexual harassment.”
A second lawsuit filed by plaintiff Invoice Grasska, who was beforehand president of Douglas Elliman’s Portfolio Escrow, makes comparable allegations concerning altered closing statements.
The swimsuit, which is in opposition to Douglas Elliman’s California brokerage and its monetary subsidiaries, Kotler, escrow officer Melinda Topete, Western Area COO William Begert and escrow officer Renee Mills, alleges that the corporate requested managers at Portfolio Escrow to “inflate a closing statement to allow the Altmans to earn more commissions.”
Grasska launched Portfolio Escrow in 2009 and bought it to Douglas Elliman in 2019. He’s suing for retaliation, breach of contract and defamation, in addition to different allegations. The lawsuit states that Portfolio Escrow can be at present beneath audit by the California Division of Monetary Safety and Innovation. Grasska claimed that Elliman brokers had been incentivized to make use of Portfolio Escrow of their transactions by means of greater commissions and advertising and marketing spend will increase, with out disclosing these incentives to customers.
Carrillo declined to remark to Inman. Grasska didn’t instantly reply to Inman’s request for remark.
Douglas Elliman additionally filed its personal lawsuit in opposition to Grasska final week, alleging that the previous Portfolio Escrow president was beneath investigation for kickbacks. The agency additionally claimed that Grasska had charged “expensive meals and lavish hotel stays” on an organization bank card and created a 1031 trade known as Sienna Monetary that violated his non-compete settlement with Douglas Elliman. The corporate mentioned as soon as it was found that Grasska had created the 1031 trade, he was “immediately placed on leave pending further investigation for this and other misconduct.”
A consultant from Douglas Elliman mentioned that Grasska’s lawsuit was an try to distract from “his own egregious misconduct.”
“In Douglas Elliman’s complaint against him, we clearly set forth our claims that Grasska engaged in fraud, embezzlement of company funds, and related misconduct. Moreover, the broker referenced in our complaint as being involved in Grasska’s fraudulent scheme involving kickbacks is not the Altman Brothers or anyone on their team, and has never been affiliated with Douglas Elliman.”
That dealer was described in Douglas Elliman’s lawsuit as a “high-profile Los Angeles real estate broker that is now a star of a reality television show.”
Matt and Heather Altman advised Inman in an announcement despatched through textual content that they’re typically targets in these sorts of authorized actions as high-profile brokers.
“This happens often as we are both at the top of the real estate game and on TV,” the assertion mentioned. “People like Bill and Christi use our name and throw it around to catch attention to themselves and their lawsuit that we are not even involved in. We are used to it. Unfortunately, outlets like The Real Deal use our names as clickbait. It’s already been proven. We have nothing to do with any of this and it’s just desperate people looking for attention. The Altman Brothers are not named in either lawsuit.”
The brokerage additionally alleged that it had found that Grasska created faux invoices for providers by no means offered at Portfolio Escrow with the assistance of an organization accountant as a workaround from paying off penalties from the IRS he had incurred by “carelessly” operating his personal private transaction by means of Portfolio.
“This scheme was designed to illegally obtain money belonging to Portfolio to pay off penalties assessed by the IRS,” Douglas Elliman’s criticism alleges. The brokerage additionally alleges that Grasska labored with a “real estate broker that is now a star of a reality television show” to provide the dealer kickbacks in return for enterprise. Douglas Elliman is alleging that Grasska is responsible of breach of contract, civil embezzlement, fraud and negligence.
In the previous few weeks, long-time firm CEO Howard Lorber and brokerage president and CEO Scott Durkin each left Douglas Elliman. Lorber’s departure was framed as a retirement, whereas Durkin’s termination got here to mild by means of one of many firm’s SEC filings.
Nevertheless, The Wall Avenue Journal reported that Lorber had been pressured to depart amidst a bigger investigation into the corporate’s office tradition, largely spurred by high-profile sexual assault allegations in opposition to two former long-time prime brokers, Tal and Oren Alexander.
E mail Lillian Dickerson
