Mario Umansky has found himself in some legal hot water over some allegedly fraudulent PPP loans he received during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 54-year-old Umansky and his real estate company known simply as The Agency is accused of fraudulently obtaining $3.5 million in PPP loans during the pandemic.
Umansky – who was married to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards for 27 years until their split in July 2023 – is being sued by Realtor LLC.
The lawsuit was filed in July 2023, though, according to InTouch, it was recently unsealed by the court, though Umansky – whose Netflix show Buying Beverly Hills was recently canceled – has denied the claims.
The lawsuit alleges that the company falsified their applications for the Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) loans, which they received $3,521,153.
Mario Umansky has found himself in some legal hot water over some allegedly fraudulent PPP loans he received during the COVID-19 pandemic
Umansky – who was married to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards for 27 years until their split in July 2023 – is being sued by Realtor LLC
The lawsuit alleges that the company falsified their applications for the Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) loans, which they received $3,521,153
The filing alleges, ‘Those two programs were enacted for the sole purpose of preventing termination of employees by providing loans to businesses that were unable to pay them due to the impact of COVID-19, not to bolster or preserve the profits of a business that had sufficient funds available to pay its employees.’
The complaint alleges that Umansky and his partner William ‘Billy’ Rose had misrepresented their financial situation in applying for the loans, not to pay their employees but to bolster their profits.
‘Their profits would have been minimally impacted if at all, because their revenue was based on a percentage of real estate transactions, typically between millionaires and billionaires, not consumers who were unable to buy goods or dine out because of the COVID-19 restrictions. In fact, The Agency’s business grew massively during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ the complaint adds.
The lawsuit continues that The Agency took in $6 billion in sales volume in 2019, which grew to $6.5 billion in 2020 and $11.5 billion in 2021.
Realtor LLC adds that The Agency falsely claimed that they needed these loans to pay their employees, and that they exceeded the loan limit.
The Agency also applied for and was accepted for ‘full loan forgiveness, knowing they were ineligible for the loans in the first place.’
The Agency applied for and was approved for an initial loan of $2.3 million during the PPP first round, and a second loan of $1.1 million that was also approved.
‘The PPP Loans were not necessary to support Defendants’ ongoing operations and pay their employees’ salaries, nor were they used for such purposes, because Defendants had ample liquidity to do so. Instead, they only bolstered Defendants’ profits,” the suit alleged.
The complaint alleges that Umansky and his partner William ‘Billy’ Rose had misrepresented their financial situation in applying for the loans, not to pay their employees but to bolster their profits
Realtor LLC adds that The Agency falsely claimed that they needed these loans to pay their employees, and that they exceeded the loan limit
A rep for The Agency responded with a statement that began, ‘While we are unable to comment on ongoing litigation, we want to emphasize that The Agency has always operated with the highest level of integrity in all aspects of our business.’
‘Like many companies, we faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, including layoffs and cutbacks,’ the statement continued.
‘Our focus has always been, and especially during that challenging period, on delivering exceptional service to our customers and supporting our employees,’ the statement added.
‘The claims in this case do not reflect the reality of our operations and financial situation at the time we filed for our PPP loans, and we intend to vigorously defend against these meritless claims,’ the statement concludes.
