Author: Marie

The Broeksmits are suing the owners of the lavish ‘The Ritz Dynasty’ mansion

The Broeksmits are suing the owners of the lavish ‘The Ritz Dynasty’ mansion

In L.A., hidden armies of workers keep mega-mansions on the market

Los Angeles: A group of more than a dozen people, ranging from business consultants to social workers, have filed a lawsuit against the owners of the ‘The Ritz Dynasty’ mansion on the west side of L.A., accusing them of fraud and breach of security.

The suit charges that owners Sam Broeksmit and his former wife, Sherry Broeksmit, who were accused in court last Friday of “a scheme to hide millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains”, misused a large portion of the fortune they left behind to construct a lavish mansion on a hillside near Beverly Hills.

“We don’t know if we’re dealing with the world’s most sophisticated and devious con artists or not,” said one of the attorneys who led the case, John L. Weisman, in filing a 45-page counterclaim claiming the Broeksmits were only buying the house they saw as a good investment opportunity — “a good use of our money!”

Even if they were, Weisman said, their purchase of the luxurious 3,400 square-foot house at 1635 Oakwood Dr., a few miles outside Beverly Hills, would likely not have been able to compete with the much larger “The Ritz Dynasty’ of Los Angeles, owned by Broek­mit’s ex-wife, Sherry. Broeksmit and Sherry Broeksmit had been married for 22 years when they split.

In March 2002, Broeksmit and Sherry Broeksmit bought this house for $23.5 million, according to the Los Angeles County tax assessor’s office.

“If we had been buying The Ritz, we would have had to take out $16 million in loans to finance the property,” Weisman said.

In court papers filed last Friday, the

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