Lease & Accounts
The financial and contractual architecture of the tenancy: two executed leases, a documented sixteen-month wire transfer record, an inducement to remain followed by a restructured lease, and four distinct payment channels in less than two months.
This section presents the contracts that established the tenancy and the primary-source bank records, emails, and text messages that document how rent was paid and to whom. Governing California and federal statutory provisions are identified at the end of the section for counsel’s independent analysis.
The events are presented in chronological order. The conduct documented here bears on both civil claims arising from the tenancy and on potential referrals to regulatory and criminal enforcement authorities.
The 2022 lease and the sixteen-month payment record
Residential Lease, executed April 21, 2022
DocuSign Envelope ID: E1408B26-9382-47C5-827B-BB69325B53BC · Form: C.A.R. Form LR (Revised 12/21)
Landlord: Phat Tran · Tenants: Michael A. Gasio, Yulia S. Gasio (and named occupant Tetyana Zvyagintseva)
Property: 19235 Brynn Ct., Huntington Beach, CA 92648-6287
Term: Commencement May 1, 2022 · Rent: $5,000.00 per month, due on the 1st of each calendar month (Section 3.B)
Payment directed to: Phat Tran personally, 20012 Sand Dune Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 · phone (714) 724-5688
Listing brokerage: Sun Realty and Management, 1532 Orchard Dr., Newport Beach, CA 92660 · Anna Ly
Security deposit: $5,000.00 · Move-in funds total: $10,375.00
Beginning January 2023 (the earliest date shown on the available Wells Fargo Premier Checking statement), the plaintiffs sent rent to Phat L. Tran by wire transfer every month for sixteen consecutive months. Each transfer is independently confirmed by a unique Wells Fargo confirmation number and a unique Service Reference number.
| Date | Beneficiary | Wells Fargo Confirmation # | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/23/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00002882515680 | $5,000.00 |
| 02/27/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00002979347101 | $5,000.00 |
| 03/20/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00003051071533 | $5,000.00 |
| 05/22/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00003243347867 | $5,000.00 |
| 06/20/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00003342316341 | $5,000.00 |
| 07/20/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00003437296642 | $5,000.00 |
| 08/18/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00003536112847 | $5,000.00 |
| 09/20/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00003645944872 | $5,000.00 |
| 10/20/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00003749595672 | $5,000.00 |
| 11/20/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00003856699927 | $5,000.00 |
| 12/19/2023 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00003959774782 | $5,000.00 |
| 01/22/2024 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00004067477330 | $5,000.00 |
| 02/20/2024 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00004175945596 | $5,000.00 |
| 03/20/2024 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00004277751179 | $5,000.00 |
| 04/19/2024 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00004382456864 | $5,000.00 |
| 06/28/2024 | PHAT L TRAN | OW00004652829145 | $5,350.00 |
Every payment was sent to Phat L. Tran personally, by wire, from Wells Fargo Premier Checking account ...0732. The dates of payment cluster on or near the 20th of each month, consistent with a non-standard by-the-20th payment demand communicated during the 2022 tenancy. The June 28, 2024 wire (highlighted) is examined separately below.
Source: Wells Fargo Premier Checking Account ...0732 transaction history, Wire Money — Details view.
March–April 2024: the renewal sequence
March 20, 2024 — Telephone conversation: plaintiffs communicate intent to vacate
Michael Gasio and Phat Tran spoke by telephone on March 20, 2024. Plaintiffs communicated their intent to vacate the property at the end of April 2024 and to request return of the full security deposit. The owner responded that he did not wish to lose the plaintiffs as tenants and committed verbally to addressing outstanding property issues. Plaintiffs requested confirmation in writing.
April 2, 2024 — Owner’s written response confirming intent to retain
Two days after the March 20 call, the owner sent the following email from kyphat@yahoo.com:
Sent from my iPhone
This email places in writing the owner’s acknowledgment that the plaintiffs were considering departure and his stated intent to retain them as tenants.
April 19, 2024 — Plaintiffs wire $5,000 with explanatory memo
Plaintiffs wired $5,000.00 from Wells Fargo Premier Checking ...0732 to recipient account ending ...9166, designated “Landlord.” Wells Fargo Confirmation #OW00004382456864. Zero wire fee. Sent and delivered the same day at 11:51 AM Pacific Time.
The plaintiff included the following message to the recipient’s bank, visible in the Wells Fargo wire transfer detail:
The message records the plaintiff’s contemporaneous understanding that the wire was a lease-period payment at the prior $5,000 rate. The wire was sent six days before the plaintiff’s confirming email (Stage 4) and seven days before the new lease was executed (Stage 5).
April 25, 2024 — Plaintiff confirms payment characterization in writing
On April 25, 2024 at 11:18 AM PDT — the day before the new lease was executed — the plaintiff emailed Hanson Le at the broker’s Berkshire Hathaway company email address, with the subject line “Witches burnt Broom.” The email opened:
Please be aware I paid the payment of $5,000 last week for 5-24 there are 11 payments remain at $5,350.
This email records, in writing, sent to the broker’s company email address one day before the new lease was executed: (i) that the $5,000 wired April 19 was for May 2024 (“5-24”) at the existing rate, and (ii) that the plaintiff understood eleven remaining payments at the new rate of $5,350. The broker did not dispute this characterization in writing.
April 26, 2024 — New residential lease executed
DocuSign Envelope ID: 46CC8725-F790-DF11-96F5-604580068161 · Form: C.A.R. Form RLMM (Revised 12/23)
Landlord: Phat Ky Tran · Tenants: Michael Andrew Gasio, Yulia Gasio (and named occupant Tetyana Zvyagintseva)
Term: 13 months commencing May 1, 2024, terminating June 30, 2025
Rent: $5,350.00 per month · Broker / Property Manager: Hanson Le, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties, DRE Lic. #01358448
Payment directed to: Wells Fargo Bank, NAME: HANSON LE, ACCOUNT #: 3312943297 (Section 3.D.(2) of executed lease)
The lease redirects payment from the owner’s personal account (where the prior sixteen wires had been sent) to a Wells Fargo account in the broker’s personal name. California Business & Professions Code § 10145 requires a real estate broker who receives trust funds from a principal to deposit those funds into the broker’s designated trust fund account maintained with a recognized California depository. The lease does not on its face identify account #3312943297 as a designated broker trust fund account.
April 26, 2024 — Same-day broker text proposing redirection of payments
On the same day the lease was executed routing payment to Wells Fargo account #3312943297, the broker sent the following text from the “Property Manager” line:
The text proposes redirecting rent payments from the owner to the broker personally. This is distinct from a broker acting as agent receiving rent on the owner’s behalf and depositing to a designated trust account; the text expressly characterizes the transfer as going “to me instead of to the owner.”
April 26, 2024 — Plaintiff raises deposit accounting in writing
In the same day’s text exchange, the plaintiff raised in writing that the new contract did not reflect previously paid deposits:
Section 13 does not show that we have two large dogs on this property as agreed.
Total deposits not reflected in the new contract: $7,350. The plaintiff requested confirmation in writing of either return or credit. The broker’s same-day response did not address the deposit accounting question; the broker pivoted to asking what bank the plaintiff used (Stage 6).
May–June 2024: continued performance under disputed contract
June 28, 2024 — Wire transfer of $5,350 with documentary memo
Seven days after the unsigned Three-Day Notice was served on June 21, 2024 (see Section 3), the plaintiff sent a wire transfer of $5,350.00 from Wells Fargo Premier Checking ...0732 directly to PHAT L TRAN. Wells Fargo Confirmation #OW00004652829145. Zero wire fee. Sent and delivered the same day.
The plaintiff included the following message to the recipient’s bank:
The message records, in a contemporaneous Wells Fargo wire transmission directly to the owner: (i) that the payment was for July 2024; (ii) that the plaintiff considered the contract under which the payment was being made to be of disputed or unknown status; and (iii) that the plaintiff was tracking the cumulative payment count at 27 of 37 contemplated total payments. The wire posted to the owner’s receiving account. The owner accepted the funds.
The four payment channels
Across the period from the 2022 tenancy through the Three-Day Notice, the plaintiff was directed to send rent through four distinct payment channels in approximately eight weeks:
| Date / Document | Account or Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 lease (executed Apr 21, 2022) |
Phat Tran personally 20012 Sand Dune Lane, Huntington Beach |
Per Section 3.D.(2) of executed 2022 lease. Sixteen wire transfers sent and posted to PHAT L TRAN under this channel through April 19, 2024. |
| 2024 lease (executed Apr 26, 2024) |
Wells Fargo #3312943297 Account holder: HANSON LE |
Per Section 3.D.(2) of executed 2024 lease. Account is in the broker’s personal name. Lease does not on its face designate this as a broker trust account. |
| Same day — April 26, 2024 text | Broker’s personal account (unspecified) |
Broker text the same day proposing to redirect monthly rent “to me instead of to the owner.” |
| Three-Day Notice (June 21, 2024) |
Wells Fargo #1005959166 c/o Phat Tran at 19840 Beach Blvd. branch |
Notice directs payment to a third Wells Fargo account, payable in person at a specific bank branch during banking hours. See Section 3. |
Governing statutory provisions
California and federal provisions applicable to the conduct documented in this section
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1572 · Actual fraud Applicable to the April 2, 2024 written inducement (Stage 2) followed twenty-four days later by execution of a new thirteen-month lease at a higher rate with payment routed through the broker’s personal account (Stage 5).
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 10145 · Broker handling of trust funds Applicable to the 2024 lease directing rent to a Wells Fargo account in the broker’s personal name (Stage 5) and to the broker’s same-day text proposing to redirect monthly rent “to me instead of to the owner” (Stage 6).
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 10176 · Grounds for suspension or revocation of real estate license Applicable to the same broker conduct in Stages 5 and 6, including substantial misrepresentation and any secret or undisclosed profit-taking by the licensee.
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 · Security deposit handling Applicable to the $7,350 in previously paid deposits not reflected in the 2024 executed lease (Stage 7) and to the broker’s failure to address in writing the plaintiff’s documented request for accounting or credit.
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1161 · Unlawful detainer notice requirements Applicable to the Three-Day Notice directing payment to Wells Fargo account #1005959166 rather than to the payment account established by the executed lease (#3312943297). See Section 3.
- 18 U.S.C. § 1343 · Fraud by wire, radio, or television Applicable to electronic wire transfers sent and received in connection with the restructured lease and the June 28, 2024 wire expressly characterized by the sender as payment under an “Unknown Contract.” Federal wire fraud requires proof of a scheme to defraud, interstate wire communications in furtherance of the scheme, and specific intent — elements for counsel and the courts to evaluate.