A second Los Angeles real estate agent is facing criminal charges for allegedly price gouging evacuees of the Eaton Fire, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday.
Lar Sevan Chouljian allegedly attempted to rent a Glendale home to an evacuated family at more than 50% above the listing price, violating state price gouging restrictions that cap increases at 10% during emergencies, prosecutors said.
"In the face of natural disaster, we should be coming together to help our neighbors, not attempting to profit off of their pain," Bonta said.
The charges come amid an aggressive crackdown on price gouging following the Southern California wildfires that began in early January. The California Department of Justice has issued over 650 warning letters to hotels and landlords suspected of illegal price hikes during the emergency period, which extends through March 8.
The first realtor charged, Mike Kobeissi, was arrested last week. He is accused of increasing the price of a rental home by 38% after being contacted by a couple looking for housing after the fires.
Law enforcement officials up and down the state have intensified efforts to combat disaster-related fraud and price gouging in recent years, with cases surging during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent wildfire seasons. Under state law, businesses cannot raise prices more than 10% above pre-emergency levels for essential goods and services, including housing, during declared emergencies. Violations can result in up to one year in jail and fines up to $10,000.
The Department of Justice launched a dedicated website and hotline for reporting suspected price gouging and other wildfire-related fraud. Officials are particularly focused on investigating reports of inflated rental prices and unsolicited lowball offers on fire-damaged properties in Los Angeles County.
Prosecutors are working with district attorneys and local law enforcement to investigate complaints since the state of emergency was declared on January 7. The Attorney General's office urges residents to document all correspondence and pricing details when reporting suspicious activity.
TIPS FOR REPORTING PRICE GOUGING, SCAMS, FRAUD AND OTHER CRIMES:
- Visit oag.ca.gov/LAfires or call our hotline at: (800) 952-5225.
- Include screenshots of all correspondence including conversations, text messages, direct messages (DMs), and voicemails
- Provide anything that shows what prices you were offered, when, and by whom.
- If you’re on a site like Zillow, you can also send screenshots of the price history and a link to the listing.
- Include first and last names of the realtors, listing agents, or business owners you spoke to. Be sure to include phone numbers, email addresses, home and business addresses, websites, social media accounts.
- Don't leave out any information that can help us find and contact the business or landlord.
