Mother of murder victim sues Ahaheim landlord

The mother of a man allegedly murdered by a co-worker has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Pence Wealth Management and Advanced Real Estate Services.

Wendy Cuomo sued the Newport Beach-based wealth management firm and the Irvine-based landlord following the April 19 stabbing death of her son, Griffin Robert Cuomo, alongside roommate Jonathan Andrew Bahm at their apartment near Angel Stadium, the Orange County Register reported.

Ramy Fahim, 26, of Irvine, was charged with murder in connection with the double-slaying.

In her civil lawsuit, Cuomo accuses Pence Wealth of negligence in hiring the suspected killer in order to gain favor with his mother, who at the time was a minister with the Egyptian government.

She alleges Fahim was “given the green light” to “harass, intimidate and threaten” his co-workers at Pence Wealth Management in the months leading up to the slayings. Among the employees Fahim is accused of threatening was Cuomo, according to the complain.

The lawsuit also names Advanced Real Estate Services, a multifamily investor that owns and operates the apartments where the killing took place.

It accuses the landlord of allowing Fahim to move around common areas of the complex in the late night and early morning hours leading up to the slayings.

On the night of April 18, the lawsuit alleges Fahim went to Cuomo’s Anaheim apartment building, entered what was touted as a secure complex and waited for Cuomo to leave the apartment around 6:20 a.m. The roommates were stabbed to death as they came out the door into the hallway, according to the lawsuit.

Bahm, Cuomo’s roommate, is not believed to have had any prior connection to Fahim.

An apartment security guard spotted Fahim on a roof around midnight, or about six hours before the killings, but did not force him to leave, the lawsuit alleges.

Pence Wealth Management, Advanced Real Estate Services and an attorney representing Fahim did not respond to requests for comment from the Register.
Attorney Ray Boucher, who is representing Cuomo’s mother, said Fahim was known by workers at the firm for his heated temper, which at times included pounding a table or screaming at other employees.

Boucher accused the wealth management firm’s leaders as putting their friendship with Fahim’s mother before the safety of their employees, and the owners of the apartment complex of selling tenants on a promise of safety and security they failed to keep.

Fahim has pleaded not guilty to the alleged ambush stabbing of Cuomo and Bahm, both 23 and alumni of Chapman University.

Nabila Makram, Fahim’s mother, was replaced in her government position during a surprise cabinet shuffle in August, according to Egyptian media. Months earlier, she had indicated that her ability to carry out government responsibilities hadn’t been compromised by her son’s arrest.

— Dana Bartholomew

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