Farnaz Rahimi is the latest guest on the podcast.
Farnaz has been dealing with another nightmare in the Orange County, California probate system.
The powers that be within the probate system will say that the probate system is especially necessary to provide an independent voice when families get into disputes they can’t resolve on their own.
In reality, many players in the probate system exploit these disputes. The use the vulnerability of families as an opportunity to make a lot of money.
That’s what happened in this case, or to be more exact, that’s what might have happened if Farnaz had not been made aware of the ongoing investigation of Orange County’s probate system.
In 2014, her father, Mehdi Rahimi Kashani, executed the Mehdi Rahimi Kashani trust to be split by his three children.
The trust included some cash, an expensive mobile home, but primarily it included an expensive piece of real estate property.
Farnaz told me this property alone was worth approximately $10 million.
After a few years, Farnaz told me, her brother, Faramarz, began to engage in elder abuse against his father.
This included removing over $100,000 from the trust in a dubious way, trying to sell the equestrian center from underneath his siblings, and unilaterally making himself the super trustee.
Farnaz goes into more detail about this abuse in the first fifteen minutes of the podcast.
I reached out to Faramarz by email but received no response.
In 2019, Farnaz began a long and arduous journey to remove her brother as trustee.
In March 2023, Faramarz was removed for cause by Commissioner Aaron Heisler.
A Commissioner is a junior judge.
Things were only about to get worse. Appointed in Faramarz’s place was Richard Huntington, a professional fiduciary.
Huntington was appointed in May 2023.
As part of his appointment, Huntington selected Steve Giammichele as his attorney.
I reached out to Huntington and Giammichele but received no response.
The fees for Giamichele’s and Huntington’s services were paid from the trust.
Huntington is a notorious figure in Orange County, having spearheaded the pilfering of Marty Adair’s estate.
Farnaz’s ignorance of Huntington’s reputation and tactics would not last long.
By July 2023, Farnaz filed a petition asking him to be removed.
Huntington, the petition argued, was non-responsive to phone calls and dragged things out to create new billable hours. The most troubling allegation is that he tried to sell the same property Farnaz had stopped her brother from selling.
Farnaz learned that Huntington may have an ulterior motive to sell this property: he receives one percent of the proceeds.
Farnaz told me that she soon discovered the investigations on-line into the OC probate mafia.
She saw many similarities in Huntington’s behavior in her case and in Marty Adair’s case.
In response to her petition, Huntington appeared to strike a conciliatory tone.
In his response, Huntington seems to suggest that he is willing to resign, only there is a catch.
Huntington, much like he did in Marty Adair’s case, blames all the problems on the family rather than himself. Huntington is only willing, according to his response, after the court appoints someone to succeed him. Huntington then argues that no one else is willing to be appointed.
Farnaz said if his argument is granted it could be years before he is actually removed.
A hearing to remove him immediately is set for November 30, 2023.
Postscript:
Check out the previous articles on the series on Orange County. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8. Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25. Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36, Part 37, Part 38, Part 39, Part 40, and Part 41.
The OC probate Mafia is on the ropes, but they are not out. Please consider contributing to the Orange County fundraiser so I can continue this investigation.
Michael Volpe Investigates Podcast the Impromptu Episode 74: An Interview with Farnaz Rahimi