Some Malibu residents are seeking justice against Peter Frommer, who is already facing felony counts for alleged fraud in Colorado.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
A group of people, including some Malibu residents, claiming they are victims of fraud, is demanding that the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office investigate a former local couple and charge them with crimes relating to fraud. The group charges they have been allegedly victimized by Peter Frommer and his wife, Elizabeth, in mismanaged investment schemes.
About a dozen of the alleged victims met with Robert Jackson, supervising investigator for the county district attorney’s office, on Monday, and demanded that the district attorney fast track an investigation into their claims.
The resulting ad hoc meeting with the alleged victims, their advocates, Jackson and several other investigators from the Administrative and Real Estate Fraud divisions of the county, lasted three hours.
Peter Frommer is already facing 29 felony counts of fraud in Pitkin County, Colo. where he moved to in December from Malibu, according to stories in The Aspen Times and other local papers. He was arrested in Aspen in early February and later released on a $27,500 bond.
According to court documents, Frommer was charged with alleged fraud or theft of up to $250,000, reported The Aspen Times. Court documents show that the FBI is also investigating Frommer’s activities here in California, the newspaper states. It was reported last month that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department began an investigation of fraud claims against Frommer.
More than 35 civil fraud cases have been filed against Peter Frommer, some including Elizabeth Frommer, in Los Angeles County, with judgments in excess of $5 million levied against them.
Their oceanfront Malibu properties were foreclosed upon last December.
Repeated phone calls and e-mails to Peter and Elizabeth Frommer went unanswered. The Malibu Times reached Frommer’s father, Otto Frommer, by phone, but he declined to give a statement, saying, “This is private, you understand.”
Leading up to the meeting Monday with the district attorney’s office, about two dozen of Frommer’s former associates and investors, all of whom claim they were cheated by Frommer out of amounts ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, met Saturday at the home of Darcy and Peggy McGinn to discuss the allegations and plan a course to financial and judicial restitution. A crew from NBC News recording the meeting.
Standing before a large screen with a PowerPoint presentation, Darcy McGinn began the meeting with a stated common purpose: “To assess the extent of civil and criminal claims against the Frommers with the intent of pursuing legal justice through the state.”
“Our overall objective is to make sure that Peter and Elizabeth Frommer never do to anyone else what they have done to us,” McGinn said.
There were vigorous nods of agreement around the room.
McGinn quickly ran through the Frommers’ background: Elizabeth, a beautiful, Columbia-educated daughter of a local successful businessman; Peter, the ambitious, computer-savvy son of an immigrant family, determined to match the wealth and influence he saw in the loftier climes of Malibu. What went wrong?
One former friend, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Peter told us in high school that he would be a millionaire by the age of 21. We didn’t know how, but we believed him.”
In one slide, McGinn explained how Frommer was able to build a life of seemingly unending wealth.
“His company, Tangeo, initially started out buying up equipment from defunct businesses and reselling it at a profit,” McGinn said. “To raise funds for these purchases, he [allegedly] promised investors an almost immediate return of 12 percent to 15 percent and, early on, he was able to pay back investors the profits. He would guarantee their investments by signing promissory notes against his real estate holdings in Malibu.”
A former employee for Tangeo, Dennis Proctor, said he was paid a salary but taxes were never deducted from his check. Proctor said he is cooperating with the IRS, which is reportedly investigating Frommer’s companies.
Michelle Weiss, a local real estate agent, said that potential investors would be taken in by his personal charm, his legitimacy vouched for by trusted friends and lavish parties he would throw at his beachfront home.
“Peter looked great. A loving husband and father, very upbeat, with these fabulously catered parties where he would rope in new investors,” Weiss said.
One after another, former investors testified they felt they have being taken in by Frommer’s promises. The anger, shock and resignation to their alleged considerable losses sputtering to a final conclusion: “We don’t know what we can do to recover our own money, but we have to stop him from doing this again,” said investor June Grimes.