A Beverly Hills businesswoman who allegedly tried to grift Los Angelenos out of hundreds of millions of dollars has been evicted by cops.
Rita Ortiz is accused of going on a campaign of terror across the city by filing dozens of legal claims totaling $570 million against homeowners.
She is said to have sent 35 liens – a form of legal hold against a property by unpaid laborers – against her victims, meaning they could not sell.
But Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday could be seen kicking Ortiz out of a home in Westwood in a dramatic raid that left her screaming in the street.
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Footage showed her rummaging in the trunk of her white Mercedes for paperwork after cops locked her out of the Glendon Avenue address.
She claimed she had not been given a notice of the action and insisted she had to be allowed to retrieve her personal belongings.
But one deputy stood firm, saying: “I am not going to let you in. You are out.” Ortiz had also filed seven liens against the three-bedroom property she was removed from, ABC7 reported.
Last week one of the homeowners stung by Ortiz spoke out, revealing she had suddenly discovered a secret bill for over $100 million.
Marjorie Josaphat said consulting firm Ortiz Consulting LLC tried to claim the staggering sum over her property on Benedict Canyon Drive for various work undertaken over the last 10 years.
But Josaphat claimed she had not heard of them, never met its founder Rita Ortiz and had only bought the house last year when it was in need of urgent repair.
Others on the street have also been stung by the company, with her neighbors Mary Tosky and Andrea Knowles both being asked for $24 million each.
Josaphat said she bought the three-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot home in a poor state and did a full renovation before she planned to sell it three weeks ago.
But she discovered she had two mechanics liens – a legal hold against a property by unpaid laborers – totaling $48 million for supposed “cleaning services” and “business consulting.”
Another one was later filed for $98 million claiming payment for “10 contracts” and “80 agreements,” legal filings show.
Josaphat told ABC7: “I don’t know who Rita Ortiz is. This place was abandoned. There’s nothing to clean. If she did a job of $24 million, then she owes me money because this place was really a mess.”
Tosky, who lives next door, was also hit with two liens from Ortiz totaling over $24 million for alleged “cleaning services, labor and materials.”
She denies ever working with Ortiz and said she only ever met her once when she was sued by her in a small claims court, branding the latest claims “a joke.”
Meanwhile Knowles, another neighbor, was dragged into a $24 million fight over supposed “cleaning service and equipment” fees from Ortiz.
She said: “I can tell you that I know how much I pay someone to clean my house and it’s not $25 million.”
Ortiz Consulting LLC is listed as being run by “life coach” Rita and has filed 35 mechanics liens across the city since 2023 – adding up to $570 million.
On Benedict Canyon Drive alone she has filed 10 claims against six homes for $317 million over supposed unpaid labor costs.
The fallout appeared to start in 2020 when Ortiz sued Tosky and Knowles claiming they “mislead the LAPD” over her claims she owned the house that now belongs to Josaphat.
The lawsuit was quickly dismissed, but Tosky and Knowles claim the recent spate of mechanics liens are Ortiz enacting twisted revenge.
In a rambling statement, Ortiz told ABC7: “For all Benedict Canyon Dr. the Neighbors stole my property when I have agreement with the bank.
“I cleaning this property for around 10 years working for this property for over 10 years, they neighbors Benedict Canyon Dr. destroyed my property several times.”
She continued: “Because the neighbors knows I cleaned for years this property, the committed fraud against me.”
She added: “I have Business and projects with the owners, I did work for them with protects over 10 years, after hard work the owners discriminated me did not paid me.”
Mechanics liens are easy to file at the county recorder’s office and effectively paralyzes a homeowner from selling for 90 days, until the person who filed it lifts it or until the case is dismissed by a court.
Even if the information on the lien is wrong, it cannot be tossed out before it is seen by a judge due to California Civil Code.
Attorney Bruce Rudman was staggered by the Ortiz case, admitting: “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
David Beitchman, who represented a homeowner against Ortiz, said California state law needs to change to stop mechanics liens being filed so easily.
The LAPD and the Beverly Hills Police Department confirmed they are looking into the claims against Ortiz. The California Post reached out to Ortiz for further comment.