Unmasking Real Estate Fraud: The $568 Million Scheme by Beverly Hills’ ‘Queen

A self-proclaimed “queen of real estate” from Beverly Hills is facing serious charges for allegedly filing numerous fraudulent multimillion-dollar liens against homeowners across Los Angeles County.

Rita Cedeno Ortiz, 58, was apprehended on February 26th and charged with 25 counts of aggravated felony forgery, as revealed by booking and charging documents obtained by Realtor.com.

This unusual case underscores the potential dangers homeowners face from fraudulent mechanic’s liens. Such liens are legitimate claims that can be filed when someone completes construction or improvement work on a property but hasn’t been compensated.

In California, filing a mechanic’s lien is as simple as submitting a form at the county recorder’s office. Liens can hinder the sale or refinancing of a home, and disputing fraudulent claims can be both time-consuming and costly.

Authorities allege that Ortiz manipulated this system by filing numerous fake liens, claiming she was owed vast sums by homeowners she had never interacted with or provided services for.

Ortiz’s social media profiles paint her as a “real estate coach” and the “queen of real estate,” and she even boasts the title of “honorary mayor elect” of Panorama City, a Los Angeles neighborhood.

Public records show that she is the founder and CEO of Ortiz Consulting LLC, a firm that purports to be headquartered on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

Last month, an exposé from KABC revealed that Ortiz Consulting LLC has filed 35 mechanic’s liens since 2023, totaling more than $568 million worth of claims of unpaid work.

One of the victims, Marjorie Josaphat, says she was recently blindsided by multiple liens totaling more than $100 million attached to a home she purchased in Benedict Canyon last year.

The liens, filed by Ortiz Consulting LLC, claimed extravagant unpaid fees for work including “cleaning services” and “business consulting services.”

Josaphat, a professional home flipper, had purchased the three-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot home to renovate, and only discovered the liens when she prepared to list the property for sale.

“I don’t know who Rita Ortiz is,” Josaphat told KABC. “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.”

Ortiz also allegedly filed bogus multimillion liens for “cleaning services” on two homes next door to Josaphat’s property, bewildering the neighbors who say they’ve never contracted with the woman.

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In garbled text messages to KABC, Ortiz defended herself, saying: “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.”

Ortiz claimed she was the true victim in the case, writing: “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.”

A week after the twisted saga came to light, Ortiz was evicted from her rental unit on Glendon Avenue in Los Angeles, a property she had also filed massive liens against.

Ortiz was finally arrested last week, and is currently being held at the Century Regional Detention Facility in lieu of a $700,000 bond, booking records show.

Deputy District Attorney Shiho June Miyagishima is prosecuting the case. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did not return a request for comment.

Court records do not indicate an attorney representing Ortiz. An arraignment hearing had been scheduled for Monday, but records do not show that Ortiz has entered a plea in the case.