Real estate developer and former gubernatorial candidate Stephen Cloobeck is facing felony charges for allegedly threatening victims in his fiancee’s criminal case in which she’s accused of stealing from wealthy men across Los Angeles County.
Cloobeck, 64, was arrested on Tuesday before 11 a.m. and booked at the West Hollywood station on suspicion of attempting to prevent or dissuade witnesses from testifying. He was freed that afternoon after posting $300,000 bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department jail booking records.
Model and social media influencer Adva Lavie, 29, who is engaged to Cloobeck, is accused of burglarizing the homes of wealthy older men and younger women she’d met online.
Cloobeck could not immediately be reached for comment, but his attorney denied the allegations on his behalf.
“These charges are false and we look forward to our day in court,” attorney Elias Dabaie said in a statement to The Times.
A felony arrest warrant filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that Cloobeck tried to prevent three male victims from giving testimony in the case. Prosecutors allege in the document that the offenses were “committed by force and an express and implied threat of force and violence upon a victim.”
Cloobeck is also facing a misdemeanor count for annoying phone calls after he allegedly contacted Lavie’s attorney, Lou Shapiro, swore at him and threatened him, his property and members of his family, according to a criminal complaint.
Shapiro declined to comment on the situation when reached by The Times on Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege that from 2023 to 2025, Lavie, who is also known as Mia Ventura, used dating apps and cultivated relationships to burglarize and steal from victims in Westlake Village, West Hollywood, Los Angeles and Beverly Hills.
Lavie allegedly posed as a girlfriend and travel companion to gain access to victims’ homes and then stole cash, gold and designer items, prosecutors said.
She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information, two counts of grand theft, one count of first-degree residential burglary with person present and one count of first-degree residential burglary, all felonies.
If convicted of all charges, Lavie faces up to 11 years and eight months in state prison.
This isn’t the first time Cloobeck has been involved in scandal related to his dating life.
At the end of his 22-year marriage, Cloobeck became involved with Stefanie Gurzanski, an OnlyFans model who he later sued in 2021 alleging fraud.
The lawsuit alleged she took “advantage of Cloobeck’s generosity, over the course of their relationship.” Cloobeck said he spent about $1.3 million purchasing Gurzanski designer bags, watches, clothing, shoes and treating her to luxurious meals with caviar, crab legs, premium champagne and tequila in their five-month courtship.
Gurzanski denied the allegations and her lawyers alleged in court papers she was “incessantly harassed” by Cloobeck.
“It is really simple. I got extorted. I never get extorted. I found out that person extorted five other people,” Cloobeck told The Times in a prior interview. “Guess what? No one gets extorted on my watch when I’m in charge, because I’m principled, I fight.”
For a short time last year, Cloobeck was among the crowded field running for state governor.
But he bowed out in November, announcing on CNN he was throwing his support behind then-Congressman Eric Swalwell.
It was the philanthropist’s first-ever political campaign, which he funded through a fortune amassed in the real estate industry. In a UC Berkeley poll co-sponsored by The Times last fall, Cloobeck received less than half of 1% of the support of registered voters.
Cloobeck said he had launched his run because he could not find a single qualified candidate — until he endorsed Swalwell. The one-time candidate was a top donor for Swalwell, pouring roughly $1 million into an independent political committee backing Swalwell’s campaign, according to state campaign finance disclosures.
But after Swalwell exited the race and resigned from Congress amid a sex scandal last month, Cloobeck quickly announced that Swalwell no longer had his support. Swalwell has denied the allegations against him.
Cloobeck told The Times in a prior interview that he’d known the congressman for a decade and Swalwell had stayed at his home after the allegations became public. But he had since cut ties with Swalwell and was “shocked” by the sexual misconduct and assault accusations.
He also said he was leaving the Democratic Party and now identifies as a libertarian.
“You know, one thing you know me for is that I am unapologetically authentic, and it’s really simple, we have integrity,” he said. “I have integrity, okay? I am known for that. I am disappointed. I am disgusted…”
“The truth always comes out,” he added.
Times staff writers Summer Lin and Clara Harter contributed to this report.