Party-throwing squatters evicted from mansion near LeBron James’ Beverly Hills home

Fast Break

Summer Lin March 29, 2024

NBA star LeBron James got more than

what

he bargained for when he bought a $36.75-million Mediterranean-style home in Beverly Hills back in 2020.

Just a few doors down from James’ home at 9955 Beverly Grove Drive,

athe

group “squatting” in 1316 Beverly Grove Place started throwing parties reminiscent of Burning Man, complete with DJ sets and rave lights, at all hours of the night,

according to

Curbed reported.

In January, the

current

owner of 1316 Beverly Grove Place started eviction proceedings against the squatters, according to court records. The group agreed in late February to vacate the home in 30 days and

left only recently

.

But f

F

or months

prior

,

the

neighbors of 1316 Beverly Grove Place had

ve

raised complaints about the squatters,

reportedly

to no avail.

One of James’ neighbors told Curbed that they got in touch with James’ house manager, who said he was “very concerned” about the squatters. A representative for James declined to comment.

James

‘

purchased the home

was sold to him by from

the estate of Lee Phillip Bell, the co-creator of “The Young and the Restless” who died

in 2020 earlierthat year[what year?]

.

At one point when residents were trying to get the squatters out,When

police showed up at the home,

Curbed reported.t T

he main culprit

of the group

, Morgan Gargiulo, told

them police

that he has a lease and an internet bill in his name registered to the house

, according to Curbed

.

Gargiulo first toured the mansion in September 2023, although it’s unclear how he got access to the property.

Records show the property near James’ home has changed hands multiple times in recent years.One of James’ neighbors told Curbed that they got in touch with James’ house manager, who said he was “very concerned” about the squatters. A representative for James declined to comment.

The former owner of 1316 Beverly Grove Place is Paul Turley, according to property records

. Turley, who

pleaded guilty in 2018 for his role in one of California’s largest insurance fraud cases. He was sentenced to two years in prison in 2022.

Even though Turley technically own

ed

the home,

the person who lived in it before Gargiulo and the squatters arrivedwas actually lived in it before Gargiulo squated there

was Munir Uwaydah, an orthopedic surgeon and Turley’s alleged co-conspirator in the $150-million workers compensation fraud scheme.

Uwaydah fled the country in 2010, after he was accused of hiring someone to kill his 21-year-old ex-girlfriend, Juliana Redding. A person was charged and tried for her slaying but was acquitted and Uwaydah was never formally charged in connection to Redding’s death.

prosecutors allege he hire an associate, Kelly Soo Park, to strangle his 21-year-old ex-girlfriend Juliana Redding to death.Park was acquitted and Uwaydah was never formally charged in Redding’s killing.

Uwaydah was

also

indicted in 2015 for his alleged role in the insurance fraud scheme but

has

is reportedly

been

hiding out in Lebanon.

Turley signed the deed to the home

over

to Notre Dame Properties which prosecutors say is controlled by Uwaydah a few months before he was indicted, according to property records.

In 2021, a judge ordered a trustee to take control of the home under California’s “freeze and seize law” that allows the state to take the assets

offrom

convicted white collar crim

inalse convicts

. The home was intended to be sold to pay restitution to the victims of Turley and Uwaydahs fraud scheme,

.B b

ut Notre Dame Properties

solddecided to sell

the home to a differerent LLC

.managed by Canadian Adel Yamout. In December 2023, the judge officially reversed the order, returning the mansion to Yamout.[SENTENCE SAYING NOTRE DAME DECIDED TO SELL TO YAMOUT FOLLOWED BY SENTENCE SAYING JUDGE REVERSED ORDER AND RETURNED MANSION TO YAMOUT CONTRADICT EACH OTHER OR ITS MISSING SOMETHING IN THE TIMELINE]

On Jan. 18,

that ownerYamouthad

filed a lawsuit against the squatters for eviction.

James’ home was sold to him by the estate of Lee Phillip Bell, the co-creator of “The Young and the Restless” who died earlier that year. Besides the home in Beverly Hills,

James also owns two homes in Brentwood; one he bought in 2019 for $23 million and another that he bought for $21 million in 2017.