1980s Con Artist Who Resurfaced In Hollywood — And Scammed More People — Faces Charges

Published Aug 29, 2023 4:54 PM

A person is outside the entrance to the Frolic Room during the day.

Keep up with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.

In the 1980s, con artist David Bloom scammed wealthy New Yorkers out of millions of dollars in fraudulent investment schemes. Dubbed by New York tabloids as the “Wall Street Whiz Kid," Bloom served time in prison, but after his release conned even more people in the late 1990s.

This time, the twice-convicted con man is facing nine felony counts each of securities fraud and grand theft in Los Angeles after allegedly bilking nine people out of nearly $250,000. Prosecutors say he stole their money in exchange for phony investments and financial opportunities.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced the charges on Tuesday: “This is an individual who’s a predator, and he’s been preying on victims, vulnerable people, all his life, and he came to L.A. to do the same thing here,” Gascon said.

A screenshot of a press conference led by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon (standing at the podium). He is flanked by a white woman with pink hair wearing a white shirt and black jeans, and an Asian man in an LAPD uniform.

Support for LAist comes from

Become a sponsor

How deep the lies went

Bloom is accused of trolling for victims at Hollywood apartment complex, the historic Villa Carlotta apartments on Franklin Avenue, as well as in local bars.

Caroline D’Amore, a Villa Carlotta resident who lost money to Bloom, spoke at Tuesday’s press conference with Gascon.

D’Amore, a former reality TV cast member who has an organic pasta sauce business, shared how deep the lies went.

“He sent me and my business partners on a trip to Texas to meet the CEO of Whole Foods, who I thought I had spoken to on the phone. He went so far as to have someone impersonate this man to me,” D’Amore said.

She added, “He preys on people’s hopes and dreams and beliefs.”

Support for LAist comes from

Become a sponsor

An older white apartment building with a black-and-white striped awning at the entrance, with bushes in front.

A regular at the Frolic Room

One of Bloom's haunts was the Frolic Room, a legendary Hollywood Boulevard watering hole that’s served patrons since the 1930s.

As he tended to the noontime crowd, Frolic Room bartender Troy White said he remembered Bloom well: Bloom started frequenting the bar almost daily in 2021, White said, holding court at the end of the bar near the front door, and acting like he was somehow important.

An ornate faced has Frolic Room in yellow neon, with Cocktails in red script.

White said Bloom would claim he had business meetings but surmised, "he was really going to another bar.”

After a while, White said, “a lot of the regulars and everybody kind of knew he was full of it, and they just left him alone and wouldn’t sit next to him.”

Support for LAist comes from

Become a sponsor

The Super Bowl story

But last February he duped many bar patrons, along with White, into believing he was getting them Super Bowl tickets.

Bar patron Kyle Crichton remembers Bloom dropping names, saying he had connections to Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

“He told me he’s got the spot in the owner’s box and that’s where all these guys were going to be,” said Crichton, who already had a ticket but agreed to meet Bloom and about 20 bar regulars at the game.

White bought into it too, arriving at the bar the morning of the Super Bowl along with the others to meet Bloom as planned.

Two men lean toward one another over a dimly lit bar, with red and purple lights overhead.

“He claimed he had a suite, and he had us all meet here,” White said. “And then he texted me at 10 o’ clock Sunday morning of the Super Bowl saying his sister was killed in a car crash.”

Support for LAist comes from

Become a sponsor

This was not true. White said later on, Bloom was sighted playing pool at another bar; Bloom never went back to the Frolic Room after that.

One of the bar patrons who was duped, Alex Rinks, said he even bought new shoes to go to the big game. He had choice words for Bloom on Tuesday.

“Scumbag. An awful person,” Rinks said.

While they were duped, Rinks, White, Crichton and other would-be Super Bowl attendees said at least it didn't cost them anything.

What's next

Bloom faces up to 14 years in prison.