Real estate agent who callously preyed upon desperate fire victims learns fate in first of its kind case

The luxury real estate agent who built his image around posing with Bugattis, Rolls-Royces, glamorous women and multi-million-dollar listings has been sentenced after prosecutors accused him of trying to squeeze money out of wildfire victims desperately searching for a place to live.

Mike Kobeissi, who brands himself as “Mr. La Canada,” received 12 months of probation, 100 hours of community service, mandatory ethics training and was ordered to pay $20,000 to a disaster relief fund, California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday.

“May this announcement serve as a stern warning to those who would seek to further victimize those who have lost everything,” Bonta said in a statement.

“My office is aggressively and relentlessly pursuing those who are trying to make a quick buck off someone else’s pain.”

The case marked one of the first criminal prosecutions brought after the January 2025 wildfires that devastated Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, displacing thousands of residents who suddenly flooded the rental market.

Although Kobeissi was originally charged with violating California’s emergency post-disaster price gouging law, his attorney, Dale Galipo, said he was ultimately convicted of a separate misdemeanor count of false advertising.

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

According to Bonta’s office, the investigation began after a couple whose home was destroyed in the Eaton Fire applied to rent a property listed by Kobeissi.

After submitting their application, they were informed the monthly rent had been increased by 38% above the advertised price, prosecutors said.

They declined to rent the home and reported the incident to the Attorney General’s office.

“I should be rewarded,” he said at the time. “It’s completely opposite, what they are claiming,” Kobeissi claimed. 

California’s emergency anti-price gouging law prohibited landlords from raising rents by more than 10% above pre-disaster advertised prices during the emergency period.

Bonta’s office did not immediately explain why the original price gouging charge was later dropped.

As part of his sentence, Kobeissi must also write an apology letter to the couple.

A handful of other landlords and real estate agents have also been charged over alleged violations of the post-fire rent gouging ban, though their cases remain unresolved.

Tenant advocacy group The Rent Brigade has criticized enforcement efforts, saying only a handful of prosecutions emerged despite the group identifying 18,360 rental listings it believed likely violated the emergency rules.

Los Angeles County’s post-fire rent gouging protections remained in effect for about 16 months before officials lifted them in May.

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