Paul Manafort’s LA properties play role in federal trial

As the jury in Paul Manafort’s federal trial deliberates, it is likely spending part of its time discussing the former Trump campaign manager’s Los Angeles real estate purchases.

Four L.A. properties were part of the alleged scheme orchestrated by Manafort, who is facing 18 federal counts for financial crimes, including tax evasion and bank fraud. The case is part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The properties include 2.6 acres of land on Nottingham Avenue and a house at 2401 Nottingham Avenue in Los Feliz, 1550 Blue Jay Way in the Bird Streets, and 779 Stradella Road in Bel Air, according to the Los Feliz Ledger.

Manafort allegedly lied on financial documents to obtain mortgages for those properties and evade taxes.

They are the same properties that were placed in bankruptcy last year. Manafort bought them together with his former son-in-law, Jeffrey Yohai, for a total of around $20 million. Two other properties in New York are also part of the indictment. 

Both Los Feliz properties were released from bankruptcy last year and one has since been sold twice, most recently for $8.5 million in June. In February, after indicting Manafort for his alleged financial crimes, Mueller filed new charges against Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates for not disclosing a 2016 loan during the bankruptcy proceedings that allowed him to sell the property and refinance a townhome in Brooklyn.

Manafort secured that loan from Genesis Capital LLC, a firm now owned by Goldman Sachs. It was the top creditor for the four properties during the bankruptcy proceedings, according to Reuters. Mueller has reportedly started to focus more heavily on Manafort’s activity in California.

The jury in Paul Manafort’s federal trial entered its third day of deliberations on Monday.