New year, same lawsuit. Kyle Richard’s estranged husband, Mauricio Umansky, is still wrapped up in a messy lawsuit with a company called Relator LLC. They’ve accused him and The Agency of taking out a $3.5 million PPP Loan that they didn’t need. Remember, those were the forgivable “paycheck protection” loans given out to businesses to help them offset the cost of COVID shutdowns.
Relator filed the lawsuit in July 2023, so this has been going on for just as long as Mauricio’s marital woes. Immediately, Mauricio and The Agency tried to have the case dismissed. Now, new court documents show that Relator isn’t backing down.
They’re accusing the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star of outright fraud and greed.
Relator LLC hits back at Mauricio and The Agency
When The Agency aimed to have this case dismissed, they argued that Relator had no direct knowledge of their claims. Relator has no direct link to The Agency. They simply got the information about Mauricio’s PPP loan from a public database.
In new court documents obtained by In Touch, Relator delivered a firm clapback at that argument. According to them, Mauricio and the Agency need a stronger reasoning for dismissing the case.
Their lawyer said, “This is a case about greed during a national health emergency.”
According to Relator, they’re confident that Mauricio and The Agency did not need these emergency business loans because their industry wasn’t impacted by the pandemic. The Agency reportedly had $6 billion in sales in 2020 and $6.5 billion in 2021. Mauricio’s net worth is reportedly upwards of $100 million. With that in mind, Relator wants to hear an explanation of why they obtained a PPP loan.
The lawyer for Relator argued, “Defendants do not argue that they engaged in no wrongdoing. Instead, Defendants claim that the [first amended complaint] contains insufficient allegations – not on the facts alleged – but only on how [Relator LLC] came to realize the facts.”
Their statement continued, “Defendants’ entire motion is based not on the assertion that Plaintiff is wrong, but rather that [Relator LLC] does not have direct knowledge of the fraud.”
If successful, this lawsuit could end up being very costly for Mau. Relator asked the court to enter a judgment against each defendant for three times the damage allegedly sustained by the United States. Plus, they’re pushing for Mauricio and his team to pay civil penalties. Stay tuned to see how this all shakes out in court.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills returns Tuesday, January 7 at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MAURICIO AND THE AGENCY? DO YOU THINK THIS CASE WILL END UP GETTING DISMISSED?
