Consultant charged in public corruption case linked to $15.8M sale of Calabasas manse

Ramin Salari could be in for a stretch behind a different kind of bars now that he’s cashed out of a luxury home in a gated community in the Hidden Hills enclave of the San Fernando Valley municipality of Calabasas.

The tax consultant is awaiting trial in one of the several corruption cases ongoing in Los Angeles, charged with bribing a public official–former Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez.

Salari’s wife, Denise, was listed as the manager of an LLC that owned a house on 2.5 acres at 24100 Hidden Ridge Rd. in Hidden Hills–a property that recently fetched $15.75 million, or $1,438 per square foot on April 13, according to property both Redfin and Zillow. It had been listed April 2 for $15.95 million.

Denise Salari has not been linked to her husband’s bribery case.

There was no information on who bought the home. An email and calls to listing agent Marc Shevin of Berkshire Hathaway were not returned. Kathryn Newton of Berkshire Hathaway also was on record as a listing agent.

The house was built in 2014 in a neighborhood still under development. It was inspired by the style of a French chateau, covering 10,876-square foot with 6 bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. It includes a number of luxe amenities, ranging from a home theater with 14 reclining seats to a game room with an adjoining poker room, a chef’s kitchen, a mirrored exercise room, designer walk-in closets, a 2,000-square-foot garage that fits 6 cars, and 1,500-square-feet of a covered patio, which overlooks a horse ranch.

Other multi-million dollar sales have taken place in the neighborhood. In March, a house at 5303 Round Meadow Rd sold for $16.1 million, according to the PropertyShark database. Last year, Madonna purchased a house at 24220 Long Valley Rd. for $19.3 million, from Grammy Winner The Weeknd.

Salari was accused of giving $185,000 in bribes to former Los Angeles County tax assessor John Noguez between February and September 2010, allegedly in exchange for tax breaks for some of his clients.

Charges were dropped in 2020, but the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office later refiled charges. Lawyers will meet next week to schedule a preliminary hearing for Salari, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County’s district attorney’s office.