The lawsuits alleging kickbacks by excessive profile brokers, which had been launched in October, at the moment are resolved. Founder and former CEO of Portfolio Escrow Invoice Grasska mentioned he’s “committed to ensuring my name remains synonymous with integrity and excellence.”
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Lawsuits alleging unlawful kickbacks and extra launched backwards and forwards between Douglas Elliman of California and a former escrow government on the agency’s Portfolio Escrow have come to an in depth in settlement notices filed in each instances final week.
Attorneys for every get together will nonetheless must file a request for dismissal inside 45 days of Dec. 17 when the settlements had been filed, in response to the filings.
The phrases of every settlement weren’t made public, The Actual Deal reported. Douglas Elliman and Portfolio Escrow declined to touch upon the settlements.
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Founder and former CEO of Portfolio Escrow Invoice Grasska, who sued Douglas Elliman of California and was the recipient of his personal lawsuit in opposition to the brokerage, informed Inman in an emailed assertion that “I’m proud to state that all through my profession, I’ve at all times operated my companies and private dealings with the utmost moral and ethical requirements. I maintain lively licenses by the [Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System] and [California Department of Real Estate], in addition to approval by the Division of Monetary Safety and Innovation.
“Every business relationship I have built has adhered to all rules and regulations, reflecting my unwavering commitment to doing what is right,” Grasska added. “Presently, I’m CEO of Riviera Monetary Companions and Aspen 1031 Change. My newest enterprise is Ravello Escrow Inc., the place I function CEO. Ravello is the fastest-growing and most technologically superior, thrilling escrow firm in California, headquartered in Beverly Hills.
“Transparency, compliance, and honesty are the pillars that drive and guide my business practices,”Grasska continued. “I firmly believe that one’s reputation and legacy are everything, and I am committed to ensuring my name remains synonymous with integrity and excellence.”
In October, lawsuits had been flung on all sides, with Elliman executives alleging of their submitting on Oct. 23 that staff at Portfolio Escrow, an organization it acquired in 2020, had engaged in a commission-sharing scheme beginning round January 2015. The so-called “illegal kickbacks” additionally concerned “at least one high-profile Los Angeles real estate broker that is now a star of a reality television show,” Douglas Elliman’s lawsuit claimed, whom Inman later uncovered as Promoting Sundown star Jason Oppenheim.
Oppenheim has acknowledged that he acquired funds from Portfolio however mentioned calling them “kickbacks” was “not a fair characterization.”
The lawsuit filed by Invoice Grasska on Oct. 14 alleges that Douglas Elliman’s California brokerage requested managers at Portfolio Escrow to “inflate a closing statement to allow the Altmans [of Million Dollar Listing LA fame] to earn more commissions.”
Grasska additionally claimed that Elliman brokers had been incentivized to make use of Portfolio Escrow of their transactions by larger commissions and advertising spend will increase, with out disclosing these incentives to customers. Grasska sued for retaliation, breach of contract and defamation, and along with Douglas Elliman, named as defendants escrow officers Melinda Topete and Renee Mills, Elliman’s monetary LLC and Western Area CEO Stephen Kotler and COO William Begert.
Matt and Heather Altman informed Inman on the time that “this happens often as we are both at the top of the real estate game and on TV … We have nothing to do with any of this and it’s just desperate people looking for attention. The Altman Brothers are not named in either lawsuit.”
Though he bought Portfolio Escrow to Douglas Elliman in 2020, Grasska stayed on with the corporate till abruptly resigning in June 2024. In its grievance, Douglas Elliman mentioned Grasska resigned solely hours earlier than the brokerage was set to fireplace him, days after putting him on depart and alerting him it had found alleged improper conduct.
Douglas Elliman additionally alleged that Grasska had charged “expensive meals and lavish hotel stays” on an organization bank card and created a 1031 trade referred to as Sienna Monetary that violated his non-compete settlement with Douglas Elliman. After the 1031 trade had been found, Grasska was placed on depart.
