Authorities arrested a drug supplier often known as “Persian Sean” on Monday for his alleged function in promoting an Encino home out from underneath a person who later killed himself.
Bahram Hassanshahi and his co-conspirators allegedly stole the identities of property house owners, cast energy of lawyer kinds of their names after which bought their properties, in keeping with a legal criticism filed in federal courtroom final week.
Hassanshahi allegedly obtained $180,000 in proceeds from the theft of Robert Tascon’s residence — funds he later informed investigators he used to purchase medicine for resale. Tascon killed himself in 2022, which his common-law spouse informed investigators was as a result of his ongoing battle with despair and his incapability to regain his Encino property.
Authorities are accusing Hassanshahi of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated id theft and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Hassanshashi allegedly conspired with Caroline Herrling within the 2021 sale of Tascon’s residence for about $1.5 million. Herrling, a former West Hills resident, fraudulently obtained possession of actual property and cash in a near-$3.9 million scheme that additionally concerned dismembering and dumping a useless physique, in keeping with the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in L.A.
Investigators describe Hassanshashi as “a self-admitted fentanyl and methamphetamine dealer.” The 63-year-old Woodland Hills resident is the newest individual to be linked to a legal net with Herrling on the heart.
Herrling pleaded responsible final 12 months to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, against the law that encompassed the fraudulent sale of Tascon’s residence. She was sentenced to twenty years in federal jail. One other co-conspirator, Jason Kroth, additionally pleaded responsible to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing.
In an affidavit submitted with the legal criticism, Lyndon Versoza, a postal inspector, mentioned Tascon had moved to Texas someday round 2018, whereas he was in a authorized battle to evict squatters who illegally resided in his Encino property.
After Tascon received the eviction case, Herrling and co-conspirators created a pretend ID in Tascon’s identify, cast energy of lawyer paperwork and bought his property with out his information or permission, in keeping with Versoza.
Tascon’s Encino residence was his final asset, though he nonetheless had month-to-month funds from trusts his household had arrange for him in California, in keeping with a U.S. Postal Inspection Service report.
After the home was bought out from underneath him, Tascon filed a lawsuit in an try to get it again.
Tascon killed himself in his Texas residence on Sept. 11, 2022. He was 53. The police report famous that he had a historical past of psychological sickness and was concerned in fraud litigation.
In reviewing banking information and escrow paperwork, Versoza mentioned he noticed a cast energy of lawyer doc bearing Tascon’s identify, which additionally had a pretend notary stamp. The solid energy of lawyer doc granted a “Shawn Hassanshahi” particular energy of lawyer to promote Tascon’s property, in keeping with Versoza.
The doc was submitted to the escrow firm to facilitate the fraudulent disbursement of funds stemming from the sale. Hassanshahi signed a number of escrow paperwork on Tascon’s behalf because the “seller,” Versoza wrote.
In an interview with Versoza, Hassanshahi mentioned he met Tascon in jail and that he later loaned him greater than $40,000. Hassanshahi claimed that when he known as Tascon to gather the cash, Tascon mentioned he may get it via the sale of the Encino residence.
Hassanshahi “said he only spoke with Robert Tascon about it that one time but he felt he got permission from Robert Tascon to sell the property,” Versoza wrote.
Across the identical time, Hassanshahi informed Versoza, Kroth was already attempting to promote the Encino home. Kroth launched Hassanshahi to Herrling as an lawyer who may facilitate the sale, in keeping with Versoza.
Hassanshahi mentioned he didn’t know why they’d to make use of pretend notaries or pretend id playing cards to promote the home, Versoza wrote.
By the point of the sale, Herrling already had one other scheme going. Based on courtroom paperwork, Herrling used on-line mapping applications and visited nicer neighborhoods to seek for algae-filled swimming swimming pools or overgrown shrubs to determine homes with susceptible victims who had been unable to care for his or her properties.
After discovering such a house in Sherman Oaks in 2020, Herrling and her co-conspirators broke into the residence, the place Charles Wilding lived. Sooner or later in September 2020, Wilding died of unknown causes.
Investigators say Herrling and others took over Wilding’s property whereas his physique decomposed inside. She used a cast power-of-attorney type so she may faux to behave on Wilding’s behalf whereas stealing his actual property and monetary accounts, officers mentioned.
After Herrling realized of a police investigation into Wilding’s disappearance, she and her co-conspirators tried to dissolve his physique in acid and lye on the rooftop balcony of her residence, in keeping with the prosecutor. When that didn’t work, she and others dismembered the physique, positioned the items in vacuum-sealed luggage and dumped the physique into the San Francisco Bay.
Wilding’s stays have by no means been discovered.
Earlier this 12 months, one other Herrling co-conspirator, James Kantor, agreed to plead responsible tied to the scheme. He admitted to forging a belief settlement and certification of belief for decedent June Wilding in order that her property might be managed by Herrling.
Kantor additionally admitted to making a fraudulent petition to hurry the switch of the Wilding property into the fraudulent belief managed by Herrling.
Based on the plea settlement, Kantor obtained at the very least $64,000 stolen from the estates of June and Charles Wilding.
