Real Estate Agent In Eaton Fire Rent Gouging Case Ordered To Take Ethics Class

A California real estate agent was sentenced recently to probation and community service for false advertising tied to attempted price gouging in the wake of the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles, according to authorities.

Mike Kobeissi was sentenced to a year of probation, 100 hours of community service and a mandatory professional ethics course, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced July 9, adding Kobeissi also must pay $20,000 to a disaster relief fund and write an apology letter to the victims.

“As I have said repeatedly, price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal,” Bonta said in a news release. “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.”

An evacuated couple who lost their home in the blaze complained to the justice department after they applied to rent a residence listed by Kobeissi following the governor’s emergency order, and were informed that the price had increased 38 percent, according to authorities.

California law prohibits charging a price that exceeds by over 10 percent the price a seller charged before the state or local emergency declaration, authorities said. For items a seller began selling after such a declaration, the law prohibits charging a price that exceeds the seller's cost of the item by more than 50 percent, according to authorities.

Kobeissi’s lawyer, Dale Galipo, spoke to LAist about the case.

“Mike did not make $1 off of this situation,” Galipo told the outlet. “And it’s unfortunate that it happened, but we were happy to get it resolved."