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Lawsuits alleging illegal kickbacks and more launched back and forth between Douglas Elliman of California and a former escrow executive at the firm’s Portfolio Escrow have come to a close in settlement notices filed in both cases last week.
Attorneys for each party will still need to file a request for dismissal within 45 days of Dec. 17 when the settlements were filed, according to the filings.
The terms of each settlement were not made public, The Real Deal reported. Douglas Elliman and Portfolio Escrow declined to comment on the settlements.
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Founder and former CEO of Portfolio Escrow Bill Grasska, who sued Douglas Elliman of California and was the recipient of his own lawsuit against the brokerage, told Inman in an emailed statement that “I am proud to state that throughout my career, I have always operated my businesses and personal dealings with the utmost ethical and moral standards. I hold active licenses through the [Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System] and [California Department of Real Estate], as well as approval by the Department of Financial Protection 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. “Currently, I am CEO of Riviera Financial Partners and Aspen 1031 Exchange. My latest venture is Ravello Escrow Inc., where I serve as CEO. Ravello is the fastest-growing and most technologically advanced, exciting escrow company 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 were flung on each side, with Elliman executives alleging in their filing on Oct. 23 that employees at Portfolio Escrow, a company it acquired in 2020, had engaged in a commission-sharing scheme starting around January 2015. The so-called “illegal kickbacks” also involved “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 Selling Sunset star Jason Oppenheim.
Oppenheim has acknowledged that he received payments from Portfolio but said calling them “kickbacks” was “not a fair characterization.”
The lawsuit filed by Bill Grasska on Oct. 14 alleges that Douglas Elliman’s California brokerage asked managers at Portfolio Escrow to “inflate a closing statement to allow the Altmans [of Million Dollar Listing LA fame] to earn more commissions.”
Grasska also claimed that Elliman agents were incentivized to use Portfolio Escrow in their transactions through higher commissions and marketing spend increases, without disclosing those incentives to consumers. Grasska sued for retaliation, breach of contract and defamation, and in addition to Douglas Elliman, named as defendants escrow officers Melinda Topete and Renee Mills, Elliman’s financial LLC and Western Region CEO Stephen Kotler and COO William Begert.
Matt and Heather Altman told Inman at 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.”
Although he sold Portfolio Escrow to Douglas Elliman in 2020, Grasska stayed on with the company until abruptly resigning in June 2024. In its complaint, Douglas Elliman said Grasska resigned only hours before the brokerage was set to fire him, days after placing him on leave and alerting him it had discovered alleged improper conduct.
Douglas Elliman also alleged that Grasska had charged “expensive meals and lavish hotel stays” on a company credit card and created a 1031 exchange called Sienna Financial that violated his non-compete agreement with Douglas Elliman. After the 1031 exchange had been discovered, Grasska was put on leave.
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