LeBron James is reportedly ‘very concerned’ about squatters in his southern California neighborhood who have taken over a $4.3million home.
The NBA star, 39, bought an extravagant $36.8 million mansion in Beverly Hills in 2022 before tearing it down to build his dream home near the properties of A-listers such as Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.
Just two doors down from his property, squatters have taken over a home which they are allegedly using to throw cocaine parties, as reported by Curbed.
According to the outlet, ‘one of the neighbors got in touch with LeBron James’ house manager. They were told James was very concerned.’
The four-bedroom, six-bathroom home at on Beverly Grove Place had been on the market sitting empty for months before squatters moved in in October.
LeBron James is reportedly ‘very concerned’ about squatters in his southern California neighborhood who have taken over a $4.3million home
Just a few yards away from the party house is the site of NBA star LeBron James’s new dream home that is currently under construction
Listing agent John Woodward told DailyMail.com he first discovered there were squatters at the home when he went to show the property to prospective buyers in October and found the locks and gate code had been changed
The gated home was owned by Dr. Munir Uwaydah, who fled the US in 2013 amid an investigation into the murder of his girlfriend. The property was eventually repossessed, and has been in the hands of Uwaydah’s mortgage lender since
As DailyMail.com previously reported, the squatters have been throwing near-nightly raucous rave parties – and police are powerless to shut them down.
The parties often don’t start until 2 am, run on for hours, and have resulted in assaults, fires and arrests since they began in celeb-packed Beverly Hills.
At one point the ‘squatters’ were even advertising rooms in the 5,857 sq ft home on Booking.com for $300 per night and charged hundreds of party guests $75 entry fees at the gate.
They claim that they are valid tenants, though the homeowner and property agent deny any rental agreements exist.
Billionaires Jeff Bezos, Steve Wynn and Ron Burkle all live within half a mile of the home.
James’s house manager, who asked not to be named, said that he had to keep security guards at the NBA star’s building site 24/7 in part because of the squatters’ parties.
‘I’ve heard from my security team up there about all the crazy cars, crazy parties at night, how we’re not able to get into our property sometimes because they’re blocking the street with their cars, and just the nuisance at night with the loud music and people floating out to the streets,’ he said.
‘It’s one of the reasons we have security 24/7. Otherwise there’s no need for me to have security there 24/7 because it’s just a construction site.’
One neighbor, Rick Rankin, told DailyMail.com that police were unable to evict the residents because they had obtained drivers licenses with the property address, and even produced a rental agreement, which the property’s current listing agent insists is fake.
Photos from the four-bed, six-bath home show it has a pool and bar – as well as an LED-lit disco room, according to neighbors.
The homeowners and their realtor said they have not authorized any rentals or residents, who have hired journalist and crime writer Mark Ebner as a private investigator to probe the squatters.
Ebner said he has spent several nights outside the mansion watching the raucous antics from the street.
The pills and other potential evidence of drug use around the house has prompted LAPD to refer the case to its Narcotics division.
Recent police callouts to the home recorded on the app Citizen include a report of a man in a bucket hat assaulting someone with a metal box on January 13, a battery incident on December 2, and a reported burglary on November 23.
According to neighbors, a party attendee’s Porsche was towed last week after investigator Mark Ebner photographed a bag of pill capsules in the back. The pills and other evidence of drug use around the squat house has prompted LAPD to refer the case to its Narcotics division
Nearby residents said they had seen ‘hundreds’ of people attend the late-night bashes
LAPD Senior Lead Officer James Allen told DailyMail.com he had been handling the police investigation.
He said the controversial residents claimed to cops that they were friends of the former owner, and had been invited by him to live in the home.
But he added that the current ownership of the home is uncertain, has been the subject of a bankruptcy court case, and that the home is entering foreclosure.
‘I guess he left his friends in the house. I guess we can say they’re squatters. But they’re squatters to the owner that’s in foreclosure to the bank,’ Allen said.
‘We’re working on a plan with the bank to evict the individuals because there’s no one at this point to evict them and say they’re there illegally.
‘I’ve submitted it to the City Attorney. I’m citing the home every time we get a radio call for a party.
‘They’re using the home outside of its original purpose, illegally.’
The mansion itself has a colorful ownership history.
A title report on the property reveals that it was previously owned by hip-hop mogul Damon Dash from 2003 to 2007.
The gated home on Beverly Grove Place was also owned by Dr. Munir Uwaydah, who fled the US in 2013 amid an investigation into the murder of his mistress, Maxim model Juliana Redding, and indictments for a multi-million-dollar health insurance fraud.
Investigator Mark Ebner staked otut the property and witnessed dozens of partygoers arriving and leaving
Jeff Scapa, a private mortgage lender, told DailyMail.com he loaned $3.8million to the current owner, a company called MDRCA Properties LLC.
Scapa said a court ruled he could foreclose on the home, but that process was frozen when MDRCA filed for bankruptcy last month.
Scapa said he discovered squatters had taken over the home in October last year, and shared videos with DailyMail.com he took of one man admitting he started moving his belongings into the house ‘the first week of October’.
He said that he and MDRCA offered the alleged squatters $25,000 cash to leave, but they declined.
Scapa said he was frustrated with police and the LA courts for not evicting the alleged unlawful residents already.
‘Everybody knows this guy is not supposed to be there, and they do nothing,’ he said.
