Contentious Divorce Proceedings Unfold Between Iranian Heiress Seterah Bral and Ryan Aronin

In Beverly Hills, a fierce $200 million divorce battle is playing out between a prominent socialite and a UCLA physician, marked by heated exchanges, allegations of concealed wealth, and dramatic scenes of clothing being tossed from a luxurious mansion.

The legal turmoil began when Setareh “Star” Bral reportedly handed Dr. Ryan Aronin divorce papers during a school drop-off on May 3, 2024. This sparked an intense courtroom dispute over her entitlement to a substantial family trust worth millions.

The SYB Family Trust, valued at $200 million, originates from the estate of Setareh’s late father, Said Bral, a real estate tycoon who allegedly had connections with Iran’s last monarch.

Following the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi during the Islamic Revolution on February 11, 1979, Bral escaped Iran and relocated to Los Angeles, where he established a significant business empire.

Upon his passing on April 27, 2021, his widow, Yafa, assumed control of the trust.

After Yafa’s death in September 2023, the management of the trust was transferred to her children, Sean and Setareh.

Later, in the divorce papers Seterah allegedly told her her estranged husband she had ”no income, and no access to her trust.

But Dr. Aronin claims in court documents that Setareh gave up access to the trust to hide her income and avoid having to pay him any money.

“Setareh intentionally abdicated her responsibility over the SYB Family Trust when on October 10, 2024, she produced for the first time a “Declination to Serve as Successor Co-Trustee” the papers claim.

“She willingly abdicated responsibility to administer the SYB Family Trusts, likely an attempt to distance herself from control over discretionary trust distributions,” the documents claim.

The declination document is dated October 26, 2023. 

Bral continues to get paid by the trust, according to the court documents.

“Suddenly, after October 2024, Setareh takes on a “multi-debt narrative,” where she owes money for all these expenses including housing costs, attorney’s fees etc. that the SYB Family Trust is paying on her behalf,” the papers say.

In the suit, Aronin estimates his estranged wife is worth at least $19 million, and has the ability to make over $700,000 a year on interest alone from the money.

The ex-lovebirds were married in 2014 and lived a lavish lifestyle, with pictures showing the couple attending various fund raisers and private parties at mansions in the most exclusive parts of Los Angeles. 

The couple lived with their two children in a luxurious $6 million dollar home in Beverly Hills paid for by the trust, the court documents show. 

Nasty text message exchanges between the couple appear to show the war has turned ugly.

In one back and forth Bral allegedly writes to Aronin, “people treat their dogs better than you treat me.”

Surveillance footage stills in the court papers show “Star” throwing the doctor’s clothes off the second floor balcony of their lavish home.

The two have been in and out of court for years.

The trust is now suing Aronin and Setareh for $1,825,000 in back rent, court documents allege. 

Additionally, lawyers have been retained by Bral in Miami for a dispute related to a Miami Beach condo that was signed over to Aronin’s family by the doctor. 

In the papers, Bral says the property was purchased during the marriage, and has rights to the luxurious $1 million Collins Ave. penthouse.

Aronin has been a doctor practicing Internal Medicine at UCLA for 10 years.

He earns $190,000 a year according to the papers, and says he has funded his children while his ex pleads poverty. 

Requests for comment to Seterah Bral by The Post went unreturned. The case continues in May in Los Angeles family court.

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