Beverly Hills Car Rental

Everyone knows that if you steal a rental car, you are guilty of grand theft auto, and when you get caught, you go to jail. But what happens if you steal an entire rental car company?

David Sajasi, Ani Balabanian, and Fred Golestani will find out in November 2023 when they go to trial in Los Angeles, California.

In a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court last year, Sajasi, Balabanian, and Golestani are named as defendants in the theft of Beverly Hills Rent A Car in 2018.

According to the complaint, Sajasi and Balabanian conspired with Golestani to illegally transfer the entire Beverly Hills Rent A Car business to Luxury Line, LLC in October 2018.

At the time, Sajasi and Balabanian were minority owners of Beverly Hills Rent A Car and were passing themselves off as its Managing Members.

According to the California Secretary of State, Golestani formed Luxury Line LLC in August 2018 as its’ 100% owner and has operated as Beverly Hills Car Rental in Los Angeles since October 2018.

Legal experts agree that the three could be ordered to pay damages over $10 Million if they are found guilty of the theft.

The trio may have more to worry about than just a $10 Million judgment in the theft scheme. They did not file income tax returns with either the IRS or the State of California reporting the transaction in 2018.

When there is a sale or transfer of an entire business or substantially all of its assets, the buyer and seller are required to report the transaction.

There is also successor liability for the debts and obligations, so any unpaid taxes, third-party claims, etc., would become the obligations of Luxury Line LLC and its owners. In the United States, every defendant named in a complaint is presumed innocent until
proven guilty.

Sajasi, Balabanian, and Golestani have not been convicted of a crime or proven guilty of the alleged theft and are entitled to the presumption of innocence.