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Beverly Hills commission to hear dealership plan

The Beverly Hills Planning Commission on Dec. 12 will determine whether to grant a conditional use permit to an exotic car dealership at 9737 Wilshire Blvd. The dealership, TBTFW, once shared a showroom with RD Whittington – an embattled Beverly Hills car salesman who is accused of defrauding clients and selling cars he did not own. The owner of TBTFW has denied any business relationship with Whittington.

Whittington’s dealership, Wires Only, offered luxury supercars out of a showroom at 9030 Wilshire Blvd., boasting rare vehicles with six- to seven-figure price tags. Whittington and his business were the subject of the Discovery Plus reality series “Million Dollar Wheels,” which documented his vehicle sales to celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Tom Holland. However, the dealership came under scrutiny when it was revealed Whittington had been operating without a business license, without paying business taxes, without a DMV license and without necessary permits from the city of Beverly Hills. The dealership’s conditional use permit was ultimately denied by the Planning Commission in June. Three different auto lessors have accused Whittington of theft, alleging he illegally sold cars that he was leasing from them. Following Whittington’s arrest for a fraudulent check and at least a dozen lawsuits from former clients, Wires Only was evicted by its landlord for failing to pay rent. The cars that once glimmered through the windows of the showroom on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Wetherly Drive have since been removed – their whereabouts unknown.

However, a new dealership, TBTFW – an acronym seemingly borrowed from the television series “Billions” that stands for “too big to f– with” – is aiming to fill the luxury car void left by the demise of Wires Only. TBTFW is owned and operated by Zach Ersoff, under the LLC Spur Ridge Holdings.

“While allegations regarding RD [Whittington] do not come as a surprise to those who have dealt with him, Spur Ridge is a completely independent entity and has no association or affiliation with Wires Only or RD Whittington,” Ersoff’s attorney Matthew Wolf said.

According to Wolf, the two shared the rental space during an unspecified time frame “as a cost-saving mechanism.”

“Spur Ridge and RD [Whittington] had no partnership or operational relations of any kind,” Wolf said.

Wolf corroborated the allegations that Whittington sold vehicles that he did not own.

“Over time, Spur Ridge became aware of RD’s business practices, such as instances in which RD misappropriated vehicles consigned to him by other vehicles brokers,” Wolf said. “Those business practices quickly induced Spur Ridge to seek its own space. The move was hastily made, and Spur Ridge is still seeking recognition of a conditional use permit for the 9737 Wilshire Blvd space. Pending its CUP, Spur Ridge continues to store vehicles in its new space for exhibition purposes but cannot sell cars out of the new space.”

Although Wolf denied any business relationship between Ersoff and Whittington, a lawsuit filed by former Lakers point guard Spencer Dinwiddie in June named Whittington, Ersoff, Wires Only and Spur Ridge as co-defendants. Dinwiddie alleged that Wires Only reneged on a promise to help sell his Ford Mustang after he purchased a $1.05 million Ferrari from the dealership.

According to the lawsuit, the Mustang was purchased by Dinwiddie from Wires Only, and Dinwiddie wired the purchase price of $699,000 to Spur Ridge for the car.

Current TBTFW general manager Chadwick Hopkins is also named as a co-defendant, and the lawsuit states that he was the general manager of Wires Only at the time of the alleged deal gone awry.

In the hearing on Dec. 12, the dealership will be represented by real estate lawyer Murray D. Fischer. The project is designed by Michael Poirier of Roman James Design Build.

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Beverly Hills Car Dealer Accused of Auto Theft

Three different auto lessors are accusing Beverly Hills-based luxury car salesman RD Whittington of illegally selling their vehicles without their consent. The lessors allege that Whittington leased their vehicles, then advertised the same vehicles for sale on his website and in his showroom at 9030 Wilshire Blvd. They allege Whittington sold the cars, which he did not own or have the legal right to sell.

Whittington’s dealership, Wires Only, located at 9030 Wilshire Blvd., was the subject of heated Planning Commission meetings this year before being denied a conditional use permit. The building’s owner, Wilshire Wetherly LLC, is evicting Whittington, according to court documents.

Whittington sold luxury vehicles with six- to seven- figure price tags out of the showroom in Beverly Hills since at least 2022 without a business license, without paying business taxes, without a DMV license and without necessary permits from the city. He is known for the Jamie Foxx-produced television series “Million Dollar Wheels,” where he was documented selling exotic vehicles to celebrities like Kim Kardashian. But the most recent allegations raise questions as to whether Whittington ever owned the “Million Dollar Wheels” that he sold.

The latest allegations come weeks after Whittington was arrested by BHPD for alleged check fraud before being promptly released. Whittington is also being evicted by the landlord for his other location in Los Angeles and is facing at least a dozen lawsuits, including one from former L.A. Laker Spencer Dinwiddie.

Matthew DeLisio, a private detective who investigates financial crimes, is seeking criminal charges against Whittington on behalf of the lenders.

“I have filed police reports for grand theft auto with [the] Beverly Hills Police Department on behalf of three different lenders that are victims,” DeLisio said. “And BHPD said they needed to review this with the D.A. We also requested that BHPD meet with us and TRAP, which is the Los Angeles County auto theft task force … For one reason or another, BHPD is refusing to reach out to TRAP and request their resources to find out why an unlicensed, private auto collection has an individual that is selling cars to the public that do not belong to him.”

BHPD Lt. Andrew Myers could not immediately corroborate any of the reported information by press time.

According to DeLisio, in one of the cases, Whittington was the lessee of a vehicle in Arizona. The vehicle was never registered in California, and he did not receive authorization to list the car for sale at his dealership.

“We understand that the car was shown from his showroom floor in Beverly Hills and later, a transaction took place in Arizona where the individual paid and has been driving the vehicle on Arizona temporary plates,” DeLisio said. “Mr. Whittington is using temporary Arizona 90-day passes instead of California DMV report of sale plates … This is complex. It crosses state lines.”

Additionally, DeLisio said Whittington is allegedly not collecting sales tax for customers he is selling vehicles to, nor is he submitting any documentation to California DMV that a sale took place.

“We’ve brought it to the attention of BHPD and DMV,” DeLisio said. “This is not the only high line car collection acting as a dealership on the 9000 block of Wilshire Boulevard. There’s others, and it seems that it’s the same group of people, the same management, may have left one and gone to another.”

A DMV license under the name Spur Ridge Holdings LLC was listed at 9030 Wilshire Blvd., the address of the Wires Only showroom. In Planning Commission meetings, Whittington stated that he did not know who operated Spur Ridge Holdings.

A phone number listed under Spur Ridge Holdings rerouted to TBTFW. A TBTFW representative said that the location at 9030 Wilshire Blvd. was their “old location.” However, an employee at the dealership later stated that TBTFW was “not affiliated” with Whittington’s business at 9030 Wilshire Blvd.

According to Beverly Hills code enforcement manager Leslie Medina, TBTFW is not permitted to be open to the public. However, multiple vehicles are visible inside the showroom.

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Migliaia di persone sono state truffate dei loro risparmi con uno schema Ponzi. Di nuovo

Teneva convention in prestigiosi hotel e postava video su YouTube, forte anche del passaparola di risparmiatori convinti dai rendimenti promessi, il 5% lordo mensile: un ex broker di Cagliari è stato arrestato la vigilia di Pasqua, al suo ritorno in Sardegna, con l'accusa di associazione per delinquere finalizzata all'abusivismo finanziario, al riciclaggio, all'autoriciclaggio e alla truffa, ai danni di circa 5 mila persone in tutta Italia, secondo quanto stimato dagli investigatori.

Roberto Diomedi, 51 anni, è accusato di aver organizzato una rete di società finanziarie, anche di diritto estero, per reclutare gli investitori necessari ad alimentare un sistema piramidale truffaldino noto come 'schema Ponzi'. Un'indagine della Polizia postale di Cagliari, che negli ultimi due anni ha raccolto un centinaio di denunce di raggiri solo nella provincia, e del Nucleo di polizia economico-finanziaria della guardia di finanza, ha svelato una presunta truffa per circa 5 milioni di euro.

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Una parte degli investitori, che erano tenuti aggiornati tramite una chat su Telegram, è rientrata in possesso di una parte delle somme, ma la maggior parte non ha ottenuto i rendimenti promessi nè la restituzione del capitale.

Per una quindicina d'anni Diomedi aveva esercitato la professione di consulente finanziario a Cagliari, dopo aver studiato Economia e commercio e tecniche bancarie, poi era stato cancellato dagli elenchi, dopo che aveva cominciato a operare all'estero, fra Dubai, Serbia e Bulgaria.

Quando è stato arrestato, l'ex broker rientrava a Cagliari con un volo proveniente da Duesseldorf. L'ordinanza di custodia cautelare firmata dalla gip Ermengarda Ferrarese, al termine dell'indagine coordinata dalla pm di Cagliari, Diana Lecca, ha portato in carcere Diomedi e agli arresti domiciliari la sorella Barbara, 46 anni, di Quartu Sant'Elena. Ad altri quattro indagati, fra i quali il fratello Fabrizio, 41 anni, di Sinnai, è stato imposto l'obbligo di dimora.

Il gruppo che faceva capo all'operatore finanziario era composto anche da una donna di 51 anni, residente in provincia di Varese, che curava il marketing; un uomo di 47 anni, residente a Como, cofondatore e comproprietario di alcune delle società che proponevano gli investimenti; un saudita di 48 anni, residente in Svizzera, considerato la 'cassaforte' dell'organizzazione, che raccoglieva, tramite bonifici, le somme dei risparmiatori; e un uomo di 39 anni, residente a Olbia, ritenuto l'ideatore del progetto iniziale d'investimento e che era il formale proprietario di una società slovena.

Sono indagati anche tre promotori finanziari, due uomini di 39 e 35 anni, e una donna di 33, residenti nell'Oristanese e nel Sud Sardegna. Ai risparmiatori venivano proposti, fra gli altri tipi d'investimento, proprietà immobiliari, diamanti e criptovalute. Il gruppo aveva creato almeno una decina di società, fra cui la Bolton Holding Limited con sede a Dubai e la Bolton First Credit Limited con sede a Londra, alcune gestite da prestanome, secondo quanto emerso dalle intercettazioni telefoniche e telematiche affidate alla guardia di finanza.

Le Fiamme gialle hanno sequestrato un immobile adibito ad albergo a Sardara (Sud Sardegna), del valore stimato di circa 1,5 milioni di euro, acquisito tramite prestanome. In totale è stato disposto il sequestro di beni, fra conti correnti e quote societarie, di 4,5 milioni di euro nei confronti di Diomedi.

Ricostruire il sistema ha richiesto quasi tre anni d'indagini, scattate nel 2018, inizialmente su due distinti filoni: la Polpost ha cominciato dopo le prime denunce di risparmiatori che non riuscivano a riavere i loro soldi (qualcuno ha perso fino a 70 mila euro), mentre la Gdf si è attivata dopo la segnalazione di un'operazione sospetta.

Per svelare la rete di società di diritto estero, anche negli Stati Uniti (in particolare nel New Jersey) e in Gran Bretagna, i finanzieri si sono avvalsi della collaborazione delle Financial Intellingence Units straniere. Nel 2019 una delle società di Diomedi, la Bolton Fist Credit, manifestò interesse a investire, tramite blockchain, nel rilancio dello stadio di Villa Belmiro, in Brasile, dopo alcuni incontri coi vertici del Santos, il club della leggenda del calcio Pelè. Sulla sua pagina Facebook Diomedi pubblicò una sua foto accanto al calciatore brasiliano. Ma poi l'iniziativa, che avrebbe portato a rinominare lo stadio 'Bolton Arena' non ebbe sbocco. Diomedi, in un'intervista, raccontò poi che il progetto si blocco' per volontà del Santos.