Mauricio Umansky may be seeing success in the ballroom with his Dancing With the Stars partner and rumored flame Emma Slater. But off-screen, he’s entangled in a legal drama.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 53, who also appears on Netflix’s Buying Beverly Hills, has found himself reprimanded by a judge amid his separation from his estranged wife Kyle Richards, 54. He is attempting to avoid punishment over the sale of a $32 million mansion that once belonged to the son of a vicious African dictator.
Fans of RHOBH will remember that in 2019, Mauricio was sued for $35 million over the sale of the house. It was claimed that he and his business partner, Mauricio Oberfeld, turned down offers from prospective sellers, including one for $40 million, in an attempt to keep the property for themselves. They subsequently sold it for an astounding $37 million profit.
Prior to the sale, Mauricio had been contracted by the federal government to sell the seized home of Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, who is known as the “torturer-in-chief,” after he was accused of stealing government money.
After being prosecuted, Teodoro agreed to sell the home and use $10 million of the profit to pay a Justice Department fine and donate the remaining funds to charitable organizations in his home country.
After Mauricio came on as a realtor and allegedly failed to present all offers, Radar Online revealed on October 4 that the reality star was playing with fire as Teodoro’s father, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, 81, “allegedly eats the testicles of his enemies after skinning them alive.”
The outlet went on to say that he’s ruled since 1979 and established a “much-feared reputation for vanishing his opponents, and noted a report from the UK’s Mirror, which said the dictator believes eating the testicles of his enemies will enhance his sexual prowess as he supposedly eats his victims’ brains.
Private texts that broker Aitan Segal allegedly sent to potential mansion buyer Sam Hakim in 2017—after Mauricio and his partner sold the property for a profit—are said to provide evidence of their purported swindle.
In a 2017 text, Aitan said to Sam, “We could have flipped it for 20 more without even a facelift.” In my opinion, the Seller made a poor decision if they believed Mauricio was acting as their genuine representative. There’s a chance that Mo (Mauricio) is playing with fire and The Seller (is) not kosher. The world’s top ten most dangerous individuals
Although Mauricio has attempted to have the case thrown out, stating that the statute of limitation to file the claim expired, the plaintiffs insist their text messages prove his guilt.
Meanwhile, another report, from Radar Online on October 20, shared that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark H. Epstein was not happy with Mauricio at a recent court hearing after he was allegedly caught making dishonest claims.
Amid the hearing, Mauricio told the judge that his text messages disappeared when he got a new phone as Sam said their text chats didn’t exist. Then, the co-plaintiff turned over the missing messages.
In response, the judge said there would be hell to pay if they continued the “gamesmanship.”
“The parties might want to think a long time before bringing more discovery motions, given that each party has now made representations to the court that the court has found to be misleading and possibly deliberately so,” the judge said. Instead, they should just abide by the discovery statutes and provide the material as required by law. They should abide by the principle that they should turn it over if they are considering doing so. The court is sick of both parties acting like they’re playing games.
In addition to wanting the suit thrown out, Mauricio is also requesting that Sam be hit with a $1.2 million fine for wasting his time.
Meanwhile, as the judge held off on making any moves, Mauricio was told to turn over the forensic report that verifies the alleged disappearance of his texts.
“Umansky obviously cannot produce that which is no longer in his possession, custody, or control,” the judge added.
Dancing With the Stars season 32 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 13 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.