California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the sentencing of a real estate agent for price gouging related to Los Angeles County’s Eaton Fire.
According to a statement from Bonta’s office, Mike Kobeissi of Kobeissi Properties was sentenced to 12 months of probation, 100 hours of community service, and a mandatory professional ethics course through the National Association of Realtors. Additionally, he must pay $20,000 to a disaster relief fund and submit a letter of apology to the victims.
The California Department of Justice filed charges after a complaint by an evacuated couple applied to rent a home listed by Kobeissi. Once the application was received, the couple was informed the price was hiked by 38%. They decided not to rent the house due to the price increase.
California’s Penal Code section 396 generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than 10%, the price a seller charged for an item before a state or local declaration of emergency.
Kobeissi is the first real estate agent to be sentenced for wildfire-related price gouging.
“As I have said repeatedly, price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal,” said Bonta. “May this announcement serve as a stern warning to those who would seek to further victimize those who have lost everything. My office is aggressively and relentlessly pursuing those who are trying to make a quick buck off someone else’s pain.”
Photo courtesy of Kobeissi Properties
As a realtor we have to take the ethics course every 2 years for the renewal process. You can take an ethics course every day – if you’re criminally inclined all the courses in the world will not make you ethical.
he should have his REALTOR license suspended. agents like that give the industry a bad name
Yes I am surprised that did not happen !
Greedy Agent !
This makes me sick to my stomach. Mike Kobeissi should serve time in prison. I hope he lost his real estate license. Since the company shares his name I am assuming he is the broker. If this is the case he should lose his Broker’s license.
Is it not the owner of the property that sets the price? Assuming this agent was just the agent, and not acting as property manager.
apparently he increased the price 38% after the applications were received.
He got away with it and will do it again and again. A little slap on the wrist just encourages others to do it to.
Everything in America has increased by more than 10 percent
Hardware stores charge 50 percent more
And rents and sale prices are more than double
Usuary laws are a joke
Dude, you knew better and you made us look very bad. Did you not complete your REQUIRED ethics course?
Basic ethics rules & SOP should not be allowed to do any more real estate – bad name for the real estate industry.
Probation for 12 months? How about suspending his licenses?
This person leaning on the Rolls probably thinks the donation is chump change.
He will do it again, only better, or worser.
This slap on the wrist is an insult to the integrity to other Realtors.
I dont understand….perhaps the owner raised the price? I feel it would be different if they had done a lease moved in and then they tried to change the price. but landlords raise prices all the time….