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Glendale real estate agent charged in CA attorney general’s second rent gouging case
A chimney is all that remains of one Altadena home destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed new price-gouging charges against a real estate agent accused of trying to rent a Glendale home for more than 50% above the property’s listed rent.
According to the misdemeanor complaint filed Monday in L.A. County Superior Court, agent Lar Sevan Chouljian allegedly violated the state’s ban on post-disaster price gouging when a family that had been evacuated during the Eaton Fire inquired about renting the home in Glendale.
In a text message to LAist, Chouljian denied the accusation.
“There was absolutely no price gouging involved, and in fact, the property closed under the 10% limit,” the text read.
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Complaints prompted the charges
In a Tuesday news release, Bonta said the charge was filed after prosecutors investigated complaints received by the California Department of Justice.
“Today's charges are another example of [the department’s] commitment to put an end to price gouging,” Bonta said in the release.
Under state law, price increases of more than 10% in the wake of a disaster — including for rental housing — are punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $10,000 in fines.
Second rent-gouging case filed so far
This is the second rent-gouging case filed by the Attorney General’s Office. Last week, Bonta charged La Cañada Flintridge real estate agent Mike Kobeissi with price gouging, an allegation Kobeissi has strongly denied.
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Glendale real estate agent charged in CA Attorney General’s second rent gouging case
An arraignment in Superior Court is scheduled for March 4.
Bonta has said more investigations are in the works.
“May this announcement serve as a stern warning to those who would seek to further victimize those who have lost everything in the face of Southern California's wildfires: We won't stop until the price gouging does,” he said in the Tuesday news release.
Earlier this week, volunteer rent gouging trackers in L.A. released a data analysis that identified 1,343 Zillow listings that appear to have violated the state’s rent gouging ban between Jan. 7 and Jan. 18.
Prosecutors again encouraged Southern California residents to report suspected cases of price gouging through the attorney general’s website or by calling (800) 952-5225.
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