Who Is Mauricio Umansky? New Details About 'RHOBH' Kyle Richards' Husband Who's Being Sued For Fraud
He's accused of earning a secret profit in a $32 million sale of a mansion
Instagram Kyle Richards' husband is being sued.
Mauricio Umansky, the spouse of one of the longtime stars of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills — is accused of intentional fraud in the sale of a $32 million mansion. According to the lawsuit, a company called Sweetwater Malibu, LLC, hired Umansky and his brokerage firm, The Agency, back in 2014 to help sell multi-million dollar home in Malibu. Apparently, Umansky and his agency failed.
On March 13, Sweetwater filed a lawsuit that claimed Umansky and his firm were guilty of the following charges: breach of settlement, breach of fiduciary duties, statutory violations, breach of listing agreement, intentional fraud, negligence and negligent misrepresentation.
The suit also alleged that Umansky, 48, secretly worked with Mauricio Obserfled, a client who was the one to ultimately buy the home for $32 million. Sweetwater says that Umansky did not disclose "all facts" of that sale and violated "virtually every one of these duties, by engaging in blatant acts of self-dealing, earning secret profits, and both failing to disclose and outright misrepresenting material facts.”
So who is Mauricio Umansky and is he guilty of these claims? Here's what we know.
1. He's the founder and CEO of The Agency.
Umansky is listed as the founder and CEO of The Agency, according to the company's website. The Agency was found in 2011 and has ranked for two consecutive years on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies.
As for the founder himself, he has ranked among the Top Ten agents in the country for seven straight years and has sold the most $20M and over homes in the country, including properties like the Playboy Mansion, the Walt Disney Estate, and homes owned by Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan and Prince.
According to his bio, he founded The Agency "to create an industry-disrupting brokerage that would redefine the business of real estate."
2. He's accused of waiving a super pricey fee.
Sweetwater is claiming that Umansky kept the company from making more money on the sale by waiving a required $1 million deposit from Oberfeld. That allowed him "to tie up this valuable property for no consideration,” according to the lawsuit.
"Defendants also pressured Sweetwater to repeatedly extend the escrow as they looked for investors and buyers for Oberfeld, and to agree to a repair credit of $ million, while insisting that the market was softening and no other buyer could be found.”
The company is suing because Oberfled was able to purchase the property "well below its potential price." He bought it for less than $32 million and sold it a year later for $70 million.
3. He tried to escape the lawsuit.
Back in September 2018, Umansky attempted to get out of this legal mess, but unfortunately for him, a judge gave the approval for the case to move forward.
Sweetwater is demanding that the lawsuit is heard by a jury, due to the fact that both Umansky's company and Oberfeld received "massive profits" from the sale.
4. The house was featured on Real Housewives.
The mansion in question was reportedly featured during season seven of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The backyard of the 15,000-square-foot home that overlooks the historic Surfrider State Beach and the famed Malibu Pier was turned into a Great Gatsby-themed event for the show.
Richards even posted a photo from the party at the house with a caption that read: "about last night."
5. Neither Richards nor Umansky has commented on the lawsuit.
The reality couple has yet to comment on the impending lawsuit. Richards and Umansky met in 1994 at a Los Angeles real estate agency and got married on Jan. 20, 1996. Richards was four months pregnant at the time.
They later had two more daughters, Sophia, born in 2000, and Portia, born in 2008.
Emily Blackwood is a writer and editor living in California. She covers all things news, pop culture and true crime.