California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed charges Jan 21 against a Los Angeles-area real estate agent in the state’s first notable case of alleged price gouging related to the deadly wildfires that started this month.
Mike Kobeissi, a real estate agent based in La Canada, faces charges of allegedly raising the rental price of a home in the city on Jan. 11 after thousands of homes were destroyed in a nearby fire, according to the court complaint.
Kobeissi’s company is located just 7 miles east of Altadena, in Los Angeles County, where the Jan. 7 Eaton Fire killed at least 17 people and destroyed nearly 9,500 homes. The fire continues to burn but was 95 percent contained Thursday after torching 14,021 acres….