The billionaire real estate developer faces felony witness-dissuasion charges connected to Adva Lavie’s pending burglary prosecution.
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — Stephen Cloobeck, a billionaire real estate developer and former California gubernatorial candidate, was arrested Tuesday in Los Angeles County on felony charges alleging he tried to stop witnesses from testifying in a criminal case involving his fiancée.
Cloobeck, 64, was booked at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood station and released the same day after posting $300,000 bail. The case links a onetime political candidate and major donor to a separate prosecution against Adva Lavie, a model and social media influencer known online as Mia Ventura. Lavie is accused of using dating apps and personal relationships to steal from people in wealthy Los Angeles-area communities. Both cases are pending, and both defendants are presumed innocent.
Cloobeck turned himself in after being notified of an outstanding felony warrant, authorities said. Court records show prosecutors charged him with three felony counts of attempting to prevent or dissuade a witness or victim from attending a legal proceeding. A criminal complaint also includes one misdemeanor count of making annoying phone calls. Cloobeck’s defense attorney, Elias Dabaie, denied the allegations. “These charges are false and we look forward to our day in court,” Dabaie said. The arrest came weeks after Lavie was ordered to stand trial in Van Nuys on charges tied to an alleged string of thefts and burglaries from 2023 to 2025.
A felony arrest warrant filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges Cloobeck tried to prevent three male victims from testifying in Lavie’s case. Prosecutors allege the offenses involved force or threats of force and violence. The complaint also accuses Cloobeck of contacting Lavie’s attorney, Lou Shapiro, and threatening Shapiro, his property and members of his family. Shapiro declined to comment to the Los Angeles Times. The Sheriff’s Department said the investigation is being handled by the Malibu/Lost Hills station and the Los Angeles Police Department in connection with the Lavie investigation. Authorities have not publicly detailed every alleged contact or identified the three victims by name.
Lavie, 29, faces six felony counts: two counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information, two counts of grand theft, one count of first-degree residential burglary with a person present and one count of first-degree residential burglary. Prosecutors say she used dating apps to cultivate relationships with wealthy older men and younger women in Westlake Village, West Hollywood, Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. They allege she posed as a girlfriend or travel companion to enter homes and then stole cash, gold and high-end designer items. Lavie has pleaded not guilty. If convicted on all counts, she faces up to 11 years and eight months in state prison.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said after a March preliminary hearing that the ruling meant the evidence would be presented to a jury. “At her trial, we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant exploited trust built through online relationships to gain access to victims’ homes and steal from them,” Hochman said. Lavie is out of custody on electronic monitoring and has been ordered to stay away from the named victims. Her pending case has also affected her travel. A planned wedding ceremony in Israel with Cloobeck could not go forward because she is not permitted to leave the country while the case is active.
Cloobeck made his fortune in the timeshare and hospitality business. He founded Diamond Resorts in 1992 and later sold the company to a private equity firm in a deal valued at $2.2 billion. He became known in Democratic political circles in Nevada and California and briefly ran for governor of California before ending his campaign in late 2025. He had used the slogan “California, get a Cloo,” but polling showed little voter support. After leaving the race, he endorsed then-Rep. Eric Swalwell. Cloobeck later said he had cut ties with Swalwell after allegations against the former congressman became public. Swalwell has denied wrongdoing.
Lavie’s case first drew public attention months before Cloobeck’s arrest, when detectives released information seeking additional victims in what they described as a residential burglary series. Law enforcement officials said the suspect used social media and dating platforms to meet people before gaining access to homes. Some accounts from people who said they encountered Lavie have surfaced in local reporting, including claims from a Las Vegas podcaster who said credit cards and cash were taken during a show taping. Those accounts are separate from the charged case unless prosecutors present them in court. The known charges focus on victims listed in the Los Angeles County complaint.
The new case against Cloobeck raises a separate issue for prosecutors: whether anyone tried to interfere with testimony in Lavie’s theft and burglary prosecution. Witness-dissuasion charges can become central in cases where prosecutors say victims or witnesses were pressured before trial. The alleged victims in Cloobeck’s case are tied to Lavie’s prosecution, but officials have not said whether the new allegations will affect the timing of Lavie’s trial. Cloobeck is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 7. Lavie’s next court proceedings are expected to continue in Van Nuys as prosecutors prepare to bring the remaining six felony counts before a jury.
The cases now move on separate tracks in Los Angeles County courts. Cloobeck remains out on bail, Lavie remains out of custody with monitoring, and prosecutors have not announced additional charges. The next major date is Lavie’s pretrial proceeding, followed by Cloobeck’s Aug. 7 arraignment.
Author note: Last updated May 14, 2026.