'RHOBH' Star Kyle Richards' Husband Mauricio Settles Massive Fraud Lawsuit Over $32 Million Mansion Sale
By Ryan Naumann on November 27, 2019 at 7:04 AM EST
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“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Kyle Richards’ husband Mauricio Umansky has reached a settlement which will end the lawsuit accusing him of fraud.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Mauricio and his real estate company, The Agency, have hashed out a deal with Sweetwater Malibu LLC, who sued them over the sale of a $32 million Malibu mansion.
The case has dragged on for over a year and Mauricio has been hit with multiple lawsuits over the home sale.
In newly filed documents, the parties informed the court they recently participated in a mediation before a private judge. Mauricio and the company informed the court that they “are in agreement on the principal terms of a settlement that would resolve the case.”
The case was headed to trial on March 31, 2020. They are asking the court to set a hearing later this month in hopes of avoiding the trial with their finalized settlement.
The documents request, “WHEREAS, to facilitate the resolution of the parties’ settlement and the issues with DOJ, the parties hereto agree that the trial date and discovery dates should be continued for a short period of time to enable these matters to be addressed or, if necessary, resolved by the Court.”
The mansion at the center of the battle had been seized by the United States government from Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, who allegedly used funds stolen from his home country Equatorial Guinea (Mangue is the son of the president).
Umansky sold the home to a man named Mauricio Oberfeld for $32.5 million. The sale was approved by the United States Government. However, the seller accuses Umansky of failing to inform him that prior to the sale, Umansky received much higher side-offers. Umansky also allegedly never disclosed he had partnered with the buyer to purchase the property.
Umansky sold the home for $69.9 million a year later, at a huge profit of $37 million.
Sweetwater Malibu, which is run by Teodoro Mangue, accused Umansky in their lawsuit of breaching his duties as a real estate agent and believed he was only looking out for himself. Umansky denied all allegations of fraud and calls out Mangue. He pointed out the home was taken from Mangue after the U.S. government found his hundreds of millions came from criminal activity.
He called Mangue's lawsuit nothing more than an attempt to take back the proceeds he forfeited to the United States. He added, "By suing Defendants and making unfounded and baseless allegations, Plaintiff repeats a strategy Obiang has used before unlawfully enriching himself by using shell companies to take money from innocent parties."Umansky demanded the whole case tossed ASAP.
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The mansion – which Umansky was the realtor for – was used on “RHOBH” while is was still listed. It was the location of a massive “Great Gatsby” party during Season 7 of "RHOBH."
Back in October 2018, Umansky and The Agency — and his insurance company, Western World Insurance — dismissed a separate lawsuit over the $32 million home sale.
Umansky was sued by his insurance company, Western World, who wanted the court to order they didn’t have to pay for his legal bills relating to the dispute between Umansky and the seller of the Malibu home (aka Sweetwater Malibu), claiming he had breached their contract.
Kyle Richards’ husband then counter-sued the insurance company and accused them of taking the side of the seller in the dispute over the sale. He denied all allegations of wrongdoing or that he breached their deal. He demanded Western World’s lawsuit against him not move forward until the outcome of the issue with the seller.
Umansky denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said the entire transaction was subject to terms of a settlement agreement between the seller and the United States Government.
Richards’ husband is still facing another lawsuit over the same sale.
