SF Developer Owes $50M, Living “Life of Luxury”

Last summer, a court ordered San Francisco developer Gregory Malin to pay more than $50 million to defrauded investors.

But that didn’t stop the CEO of Troon Pacific from burning through $3,000 in stogies from California Tobacco Center, $3,000 in grub from Zuni and $3,700 for club nights at the Battery, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing court documents.

The Pacific Heights developer now says he’s broke.

But 10 months of credit card statements filed in San Francisco Superior Court suggest a high roller who travels frequently, lives large at fine restaurants and private clubs and plunks down thousands of dollars on hotel rooms, orchids, wines and cigars.

Malin and his partner, Elena Zorn, traveled twice to Europe, three times to Cabo and jet-setted frequently to Palm Springs and Los Angeles.

He flew to Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, paying $13,056 for two tickets on Aer Lingus.

And he flew to Nashville, Hawaii and Austin, where a stay downtown at Hotel Van Zandt was $1,786.

Until recently, he was paying $266 a month to White Oak Orchids and $445 to Donum Estate, a Sonoma winery.

In the new court filing, attorney Kyle Withers, who is representing the investors who claim they were defrauded by Malin, said the former luxury home developer and San Francisco socialite continues to live “high on the hog,” despite portraying himself as having “no assets.”

“Malin continues to live a life of luxury,” stated Withers in the court filing, according to the Chronicle.

The account of Malin’s spending was filed as part of a memorandum Withers submitted in support of a lawsuit alleging the developer has “fraudulently transferred all of his assets to avoid the claims of plaintiffs and other creditors.”

In the lawsuit, attorneys for the group of investors, UNI SF VII LLC, allege that Malin squirreled away his $15 million home, two cars and an art collection into an irrevocable trust in the names of his sons. In July, a judge sided with an arbitrator, who said Malin and his company must pay more than $50 million in damages and legal fees to investors.

Malin also faces a lawsuit filed by Open AI founder Sam Altman, who said the builder “misled” him into buying “a $27 million lemon” at 950 Lombard Street, riddled with $4 million in defects.

Before the pandemic, Malin was a social hobnobber, attending gala openings for the ballet and symphony. He and his home were also splashed across glossy magazines like Mansion Global and Lux Exposé.

— Dana Bartholomew