The Case Against BRADLEY THOMAS ROMANO and Suzan ROMANO

They want your home

Don’t let Him in your house

The following is report I just filed with law enforcement. I am warning all in Pacific Palisades. If you confront these people walk away. Whatever you do, do not let them in your home and do not rent your home to them. They are Con artist.Since writing this, the Court of Appeals found these people guilty of fraud and restored the home to my clients.

My name is Paul Morantz. I am an attorney in Pacific Palisades, mostly retired. I have brought cases that were successfully tried to the district attorneys office in the past. I have worked with the Atty. Gen.’s office twice, the medical Board many times and United States Department of Justice once. So this is not new for me to bring the matter to the authorities’ attention.

For reasons you will understand, my client’s life is currently in danger if you do not act immediately.

A  member of The District Attorneys office  after hearing the facts, and suggested and make a report using this email. I since was contacted by Detective Gregg Davis , at West Los Angeles Police Department advised him of these facts. He was very interested in pursuing this matter and I highly recommend this case be assigned to him immediately.

As you will learn below, my client, Tom Hunter, is 87 years old and very ill. His wife is 71. Grifters occupied their house and threatened them if they come on their own property. They are living in a small room without a kitchen, and are exposed to strangers which might give them the virus. Doctors, he reported that he cannot go to a nursing home because of the virus and the needs to be secluded and treated at his home. But until these people are arrested. He is exposed to dying not only from the virus but from his ailments and age.

This is a situation that needs to be with acted on immediately as it is a matter of life or death. They have two teen age kids who they used as part of the scheme for 10 years. I had notify child protective services.  Your eforts should be coordinated with them

FACTS

  1. My clients Tom and Mimi are husband and wife.  They own and reside at their home locate at 1576 Chastain Parkway West, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 (“Chastian Property”).  The Chastain Property is an approximately 4,638 square foot home, containing four bedrooms and four bathrooms.  They became victims of a criminal conspiracy and flimflam game . It is set forth in the specifics below. Twice sentenced to prison for fraud and theft, defendant Bradley Thomas Romero, along with his co-conspirator wife,      have participated in a Bunco game where they fraudulently trick homeowners into allowing temporary residents and then after paying for one month, stop paying. His wife Suzan  Romano and 2 teenagers are also participants. I am notify child protective agency that this couple has been using their minor children in criminal flimflams
  2. The fraud scheme perpetrated on Plaintiffs is part of an ongoing pattern of criminal conduct on the part of these grifters.  That pattern includes a felony conviction against Bradford on Federal Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property and Wire Fraud/Mail Fraud mail charges (United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Case No. 2:96-cr-00091-JCC – 30 months in prison– ordered to pay restitution of about half million) and for day jail sentence for auto theft. It appears a Mercedes, Lamborghini and Land Rover were not enough for them. It schemes and left him with judgments probably exceeding $1,000,000 from victims.
  3. In the scheme, the grifters contact Westside land owners who listed their homes for short term rental.  The grifters arrive at the home in an expense leased car. They tell the homeowners Bradley fraudulently is a “Harvard lawyer.” He’s not listed with the State Bar. They represent their houses being remodeled and need a temporary residents. We can trace these representations back to 2011 and repeated b to new victims all the way through 2020. For those representations to be true . the remodeling had to go  on for 10 years. So it’s obvious this is fraud. And  MO is always the same .  And the bottom are 2 declarations of other victims.

      As stated above, Tom is 87 years old.  He suffers from congestive heart failure, kidney failure, peripheral neuropathy, and degenerative spine disease.  In February 2020 Tom underwent surgery.  Post-surgery, he was admitted to a rehab facility near UCLA medical center. 

  • In order to be near Tom during his recovery, Mimi moved to a hotel near the rehab facility and advertised the Chastain Property as a short-term vacation rental on the Homeaway website.
  • In response to Mimi’s advertisement on HomeAway the grifters offered to rent the Chastain Property for $750.00 per night from February 8, 2020 through February 28, 2020. The Romanos falsely and fraudulently stated that the reason they needed temporary housing was that their home was in the middle of a remodel and they needed a place to stay during the construction. This representation made by Romanos was completely false. As stated above. Further, there continued occupation of the property, which is what they did, and all the other cases, proves there was no remodeled. The grifters do not own real estate. It’s the same false pitch be used on previous victims.
  • Unbeknownst to the victims, grifters are scam artists. They have been serially duping property owners into renting their residential properties to them through fraud and deception since at least 2011. The grifters modus operandi is to show up at the prospective property driving an expensive vehicle.[1]  Defendants would then convince the property owner to allow Defendants to take up residence in the premises, typically a luxury home in the Santa Monica/Pacific Palisades area, without any intention of actually paying rent.  They always falsely and fraudulently represented the occupation was to be temporary  while construction was being completed on their home
  • Once unlawful detainer proceedings are commenced against them, Romanos typically stall-out the process for as long as possible.  They then stipulate to a judgment just prior to the matter being sent out to trial on the condition that the record remains sealed if they vacate the premises.  This way, no evictions appear on their credit report and Romanos are free to repeat the process. Romanos engaged in the above-described pattern of fraudulent conduct in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and now, in 2020, with Plaintiffs as their most recent victims.  A litigation search revealed judgments against Romanos totaling it is believed around a millions dollars.  A substantial number of these money judgments are for unpaid residential rents.

14. The Romanos for at least the last 10 years rented single-family houses in Pacific Palisades multiple times, only to stop paying rent after they moved in.  Multiple victims exist in Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica alone. In the adversary complaint filed by the United States Attorney in defendants bankruptcy notes a criminal penalty owed in the sum of $520,000 for the Seattle fraud described above   He further owes $385,915 for leasing a Mercedes, a Lamborghini and a Land Rover.  They were paying $6250 to rent a Montana Avenue residence is Santa Monica.   The court granted relief from bankruptcy to proceed with the unlawful detainer action on February 3, 2016. This means they had not paid rent since June 1, 2015, i.e., that they had not pay rent for 6 month.

15.By the time they were evicted in June of 2016 (judgment entered April of 2016), the unpaid rent was $74,400.00. The Romanos then got evicted from the Marriott and stipulated to pay $25,000, which they then never paid) before doing their Michael Lane scam where they walked away not paying $21,000 in rent. After the Michael Lane eviction, the Romanos moved to the Hollywood Hills Canyons and rented a property from RNGBLU, LLC. The case was filed as an eviction in November 2019, but is still be pending. It is assumed Romanos split and the case is on calendar for money are damages.

16. As to the Hunters, at the end of   three-week stay at the Chastain Property, the Romanos falsely represented to Mimi that completion of their home had been further delayed.  They then requested an extension of their stay for another week.  Mimi asked Romanos to call HomeAway to make another reservation.  However, the Meyers instead asked to deal with Mimi directly, without involving HomeAway.  Mimi suggested a short agreement.  However, Romanos, pursuant to their fraudulent scheme, gave Mimi verbal assurances that a written agreement was not necessary.  Instead,   Suzan met Mimi in Pacific Palisades Village and gave her $6,200.00 in cash for an additional eight day stay, plus $200.00 for a cleaning fee. Hunters later discovered that the reason Romanos paid her in cash was that there are so many money judgments against them, they are unable to maintain bank accounts in their names.  The cash is probably from their jewelry swindle and Seattle where they stole from customers half million dollars.  (Bradley presold jewelry and then never produced the jewelry or provided a refund. He was convicted of – – guesss what – – fraud.

  1. At the time Mimi agreed to the additional eight day stay, Mimi told Suzan that she would need her house back because she hoped Tom would recover soon and come home.   Suzan assured Mimi that her stay would not be long because their construction was in its final stages of completion.  Unfortunately, Tom’s health deteriorated.  He was required to remain in the rehab facility for nearly a month after his discharge from the hospital.
  2. At the same time, the grifters requested another extension to the end of March 2020. In light of Tom’s condition and her need to be close to him at the rehab facility, she agreed.  On or about March 11, 2020, Romanos deposited $18,250.00 into Hunters bank account for the remaining 24 days of March (at $750/night).  When Mimi asked why they were not simply writing a check for their stay, they replied that they did not “believe in using checks, only cash”. 
  3. In April, Suzan contacted Mimi, in a purportedly distraught emotional state and requested another extension, with a claim that their home was still not ready.  At the same time, Tom’s doctors recommended continued nursing, occupational, and physical therapy at a nearby outpatient clinic following Tom’s discharge from rehab.  In order to be near Tom, Mimi used the money she received from Romanos stay at Plaintiffs’ home to do her own short-term rental in a 300 s.f. guest-room near the outpatient clinic.
  4. On May 4, 2020, Mimi contacted Romanos to ask for payment if they intended to stay for the month of May, or in the alternative, a set move-out date.  This time Bradford, responded in a rude manner and told Mimi that she would need to wait for the rent.  When Mimi informed Bradford that she need to return to her home, he screamed at her in an intimidating manner and told Mimi “we are not moving, and you have no right to speak to a Harvard lawyer this way”.[2]  Bradford then instructed Mimi that she should not come around “his” home anymore.  The following day Mimi went to the Chastain Property to pick up mail.  Bradford instructed Mimi that he and Suzan were now the “legal residents” of the Chastain Property and that Plaintiffs were prohibited from setting foot on “their” property. 
  5. The result of the foregoing is that Defendants, through fraud and deception, have usurped the Hunters  home and forcibly ejected them from their own residence. These criminals are sleeping in Plaintiffs beds, enjoying Plaintiffs’ furniture and running up exorbitant utility bills for which Plaintiffs’ are financially liable.  Worse, plaintiffs need to be in their home to protect themselves from virus which would most assuredly kill them. We have letters from Tom Hunter’s doctors stating the urgency and need and his conditions, as well as his recent discharge paper which list his conditions.
  6.  As stated above, the fraud scheme perpetrated on Plaintiffs is part of an ongoing pattern of criminal conduct on the part of the Romano family.  That pattern includes a felony conviction against Bradford on Federal Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property and Wire Fraud/Mail Fraud mail charges (United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Case No. 2:96-cr-00091-JCC – 30 months in prison) and for day jail sentence for auto theft. It appears a Mercedes, Lamborghini and Land Rover were not enough for them.
  7. In the interim, Tom’s health has deteriorated because he has cannot receive  his treatment in his current living conditions.   His physicians state that a nursing home or a hotel room would be detrimental to him because of Covid-19.  Plaintiffs are currently living in one room guest house behind a residence. The Hunters rented room has no kitchen, nor adequate facilities to accommodate his needs.  Tom has already fallen twice because he cannot use his wheelchair in the confined space.
  8.  Tom’s doctors are conducting video consultations and have advised him to return back home as an emergency to begin his proper treatment. Tom’s doctors have indicated that he may need dialysis treatment at home, as well as continued rehab to his lower extremities to avoid being permanently wheelchair bound.  All of the foregoing has been explained to the Romanos, who refuse to leave the Hunters’ home.
  9.  

   We need for these people to be arrested immediately. Given the life and death situation, and the obvious fraud and criminal plot, if the authorities for help, my client may choose to use self-help which could create violence. Certainly, the police will be called.

   I pray for Tom, that you give this immediate attention. We have documents to provide. We can meet with a defective will deliver or email case records to prove what has been stated. If his auto theft was a felony, this would be his 3rd felony.

                               Declaration of Natalie Abramyan

  I, Natalie Abamyan, do hereby declare as follows:

I’m over the age of 18 and if called to the stand, I could competently testify under oath as follows:

1. I own a single-family home at 1598  Michael Ln., California. Through a broker I sought to rent it.

In 2018, I was contacted by Bradford Thomas Romano and Suzan Ibrocevic who requested to live there for 3 to 4 weeks while construction was finished on their home.  I was never given the address of this alleged home. After they moved in, paying $7000 a month, they asked for an extension. There was no written agreement. They said it was not necessary. They then stopped payment, saying they were having troubles with their “trust” and it took me 3 months to get them evicted. They owe me $21,000 and have never made a single payment. I believe they are guilty of fraud. I received information they have done this scam 11 times.

I declare under penalty of perjury per the laws of the State of California, that the above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

 Executed in Pacific Palisades on May 20th, 2020.

Natalie Abramyan

                                  Declaration Of Nahan Gluck

I am 87 years old and if called to the stand and sworn under oath, I could competently testify as follows:

In 2011 my rental home was listed on “homeaway.com” as listing # 904941, at 15205 Friends Street, Pacific Palisades, CA, 90272. This is in a short term rental program.

Mr.  Bradford Romano emailed me on August 18, 2011 requesting the availability from August 20 – September 15, 2011.

My response on August 18, 2011, was that there was an opening from August 23, not August 20, to September 15, 2011.

At that time I emailed three documents: Short Term Rental Agreement, Booking Confirmation, and the Rental Rules.

 After some discussion about the rate and a discount for the daily rate, it   was agreed on   August 20 that $5,547 would cover: 23 nights @ $223.33=$5,137, plus cleaning fee @$160, plus security deposit $ 250, totaling $5,547. The Booking Confirmation states “Total payment is due on or before August 23, 2011.”

Mr. Romano drove up with his wife and kids in a new Porsche (I later discovered it was leased). He had a gift of gab. He represented to me that his home was being remodeled and only needed my house for short time.  After a walkthrough with his wife and two children on Monday, August 23, they requested to start their term that night, one day earlier

Bradford Romano paid $1,000 by cashier’s check on August 22, 2011.          Bradford Romano paid $2,000 by cashier’s check on August 26, 20          Bradford Romano promised to pay the balance of $2,547 on September 1, 2011.

`We agreed on August 26, that since his maid would do the cleaning each week, the cleaning fee would be reduced to $80 instead of $160.  The total unpaid balance is  $  2,217.

 August 30, I receive an email requesting my home address (?) to send the balance. His previous checks were sent to my home address.   September 3 email sent from Mr. Romano asking me if I received check. (I did not)

September 10  email to me Romano said, “we are under siege here by fleas,” and “dog urine.”    I immediately called my pest control company, Stanley Pest Control, who does my quarterly   inspections.

September 12, Monday morning, the pest control did a complete inspection, both in the suspected             bedroom and living room and the outside grass.

           NO FL:EAS OR BED BUGS WERE FOUND, INSIDE OR OUTSIDE. 

Mr. Romano witnessed the process with the inspector and me. I had the areas treat   anyway.   

 September 22, email sent to me stating, “just a few more days to hand me the balance.”  

 September 28, email sent to me stating “several more days for the balance.”

 October 5, email sent to me stating “a few more days.”  

 October 11, email sent to me stating “…balance payment next week.”  

 October 12, email sent to me stating “This problem stems from your not getting the cashier’s check which was      mail to you.”  

He never paid. 

I declare under penalty of perjury the above is true and correct. Executed Los Angeles, California. On may 21st, 2020.

Nahan Gluck

[1]             Bankruptcy records from Defendant’s 2015 Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filings evidence an additional course of fraudulent conduct with regard to auto leases.  Defendants’ bankruptcy schedules evidenced outstanding debts to Executive Car Leasing of $385,915 for unpaid leases on a Mercedes, a Lamborghini, a Land Rover, etc.  Defendants’ Bankruptcy, U.S Bankruptcy Court Case Number 2:15-bk-21169-ER was denied discharge under 11 U.S.C. §727(a)(3). (See, Adv. Proceeding Case No. 2:16-ap-01078-ER. (Ex. C)

[2]             As far as Plaintiff is aware, Bradford did not go to Harvard Law School, or any other accredited law school.  Nor is he a member of the California State Bar, or any other State Bar. It is alleged herein that Bradford has fraudulently and unlawfully represented himself as a practicing lawyer for intimidation purposes.