Cover image via Realtor.com & Rafael Fontoura/California Post via New York Post & Famous African Americans
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American entrepreneur and TV star Kimora Lee Simmons reportedly refuses to vacate a USD25 million (RM97 million) Los Angeles mansion, which she has been using to film her reality TV show
According to the New York Post, Simmons, 50, has lived in the seven-bedroom estate on 3.7 acres in Beverly Hills' ultra-luxury neighbourhood for the past five years.
Court documents show that she has not made mortgage or rent payments during this period.
The property was bought by her estranged ex-husband, Tim Leissner. In 2022, the former Goldman Sachs banker testified under oath that stolen 1MDB funds were used to purchase the mansion at 25 Beverly Park Circle.
Leissner later pleaded guilty to participating in a money-laundering scheme led by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, and began serving a two-year jail sentence last week.
His imprisonment comes after he had served as the US government's star witness in the 2022 trial of his former Goldman colleague, Roger Ng, who is also Malaysian.
Tim Leissner (left) and Kimora Lee Simmons.
Image via AP via New York Post
While the US government has repatriated over USD1.4 billion (RM5.4 billion) to Malaysia as of January last year, it is unusual that the Beverly Hills mansion remains unclaimed
Sources told the New York Post that this gives the Malaysian government an opportunity to recover the property from its current owners, along with any other assets Leissner purchased with the stolen funds.
Simmons claimed that Leissner sold the property fraudulently and without authority to real estate moguls, the Reuben brothers.
The fate of the property currently remains unclear as the legal dispute enters its fifth year.
In her latest series, Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane, one episode focuses on the fashion designer moving into the estate
The episode featured scenes of the mansion that closely resemble photos published on Realtor.com, a property listing website with detailed property information.
A 2022 article on the website noted that the property could be rented for USD62,500 (RM244,000) a month, with the owner's furnishings intact.
A scene in the latest season of 'Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane' (above) and a photo featured on Realtor.com
Image via Realtor.comYou can watch the episode here:
Meanwhile, here are more photos of the property on Realtor.com:
