The Nuclear Fact — Silverstein's Name Is On the Check
Second Cashier's Check — April 22, 2025
Pay To The Order Of: "...PHAT K. TRAN AND STEVEN D. SILVERSTEIN..."
Amount: $5,338.48
Memo: "DUPLICATE JUL 24 RENT/PAID UNDER PROTEST"
Pay To The Order Of: "...PHAT K. TRAN AND STEVEN D. SILVERSTEIN..."
Amount: $5,338.48
Memo: "DUPLICATE JUL 24 RENT/PAID UNDER PROTEST"
What This Means
Silverstein is named as a co-payee on the replacement cashier's check for July 2024 rent. An attorney who prosecuted the eviction is personally collecting money from the tenant he evicted. This is a financial stake in the outcome of the proceedings he conducted.
Conflict of Interest
An attorney with a personal financial interest in the outcome of litigation he is conducting has an undisclosed conflict. Silverstein collected $500 in attorney fees from the judgment AND is named on this check. Combined, his personal financial take from this manufactured eviction is documented.
"Paid Under Protest"
The memo line "DUPLICATE JUL 24 RENT/PAID UNDER PROTEST" means Michael paid twice for July 2024: once via wire on June 28, 2024 ($5,350) and once again under legal compulsion with this check. The original wire payment was never credited.
State Bar Relevance
RPC Rule 1.7 — conflict of interest when representation is materially limited by attorney's own financial interests. Silverstein's name on this check is direct evidence of personal financial benefit from the proceeding. This is a specific, documentable Bar allegation.
Double Collection
July 2024 rent collected twice: Wire $5,350 on June 28, 2024 (confirmed WF record) + Cashier's check $5,338.48 April 22, 2025. Tran and Silverstein together received approximately $10,688.48 for a single month's rent. This is civil and potentially criminal conversion.
Court Was Not Told
The court was told defendant "did not pay July rent." The wire record proves July was wired June 28 — before the eviction was even filed July 3. Silverstein knew this and filed anyway. Then Silverstein personally collected a second July payment through this check.
Payment Record Summary — 27 Months Documented
Total Payments Documented
27+
Consecutive monthly payments
Jan 2023 — Jun 2024
Jan 2023 — Jun 2024
Payments Missed or Late
ZERO
Not one late payment
in entire tenancy
in entire tenancy
Cashier's Check Amount
$4,338
May 28, 2024 — Branch #0000844
Txn #213 0246 — 2:20 PM
Txn #213 0246 — 2:20 PM
July Wire — Sent
$5,350
June 28, 2024
5 days BEFORE eviction filed
5 days BEFORE eviction filed
Second Check (Under Protest)
$5,338
Apr 22, 2025 — Payable to
Tran AND Silverstein
Tran AND Silverstein
July Rent Collected Total
2×
$5,350 wire + $5,338 check
~$10,688 for one month
~$10,688 for one month
Complete Payment Ledger — Every Transaction Documented
Wells Fargo Premier Checking ...0732 — Wire Transfer History to PHAT L TRAN + Supporting Instruments
DATE
AMOUNT
DESCRIPTION / CONFIRMATION
TYPE
06/28/2024
$5,350.00
JULY 2024 RENT — "Unknown Contract for July payment 27 of 37 on contracts" — Balance $10,331.12 — Sent 5 days BEFORE UD filed July 3 — OW00004652829145
WIRE
05/28/2024
$4,338.48
CASHIER'S CHECK — CURE WINDOW TENDER — Branch #0000844 — Txn #213 0246 — 2:20PM — Signed at BHHS by H.H. (Hanson Le) — NEVER CASHED — SEALED
BANK CHECK
04/19/2024
$5,000.00
WT SEQ140387 PHAT L TRAN — OW00004382456864 — Balance $10,167.16 — Tran responded "All right 👍" — Memo: "New lease 24 one payment at 5000"
WIRE
03/20/2024$5,000.00WT SEQ#89675 PHAT L TRAN — OW00004277751179WIRE
02/20/2024$5,000.00WT SEQ165518 PHAT L TRAN — OW00004175945596WIRE
01/22/2024$5,000.00WT SEQ#76609 PHAT L TRAN — OW00004067477330WIRE
12/19/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ=76628 PHAT L TRAN — OW0000395977482WIRE
11/20/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ100278 PHAT L TRAN — OW0000038S6699927WIRE
10/20/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ#60263 PHAT L TRAN — OW00003749595672WIRE
09/20/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ=64077 PHAT L TRAN — OW00003645944872WIRE
08/18/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ164891 PHAT L TRAN — OW00003536112847WIRE
07/20/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ=22795 PHAT L TRAN — OW00003437296642WIRE
06/20/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ201747 PHAT L TRAN — OW00003342316341WIRE
05/22/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ=72227 PHAT L TRAN — OW00003243347667WIRE
03/20/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ111061 PHAT L TRAN — OW00003051071533WIRE
02/27/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ=29091 PHAT L TRAN — OW00002979347101WIRE
01/23/2023$5,000.00WT SEQ=64628 PHAT L TRAN — OW00002882515680WIRE
04/22/2025
$5,338.48
SECOND PAYMENT — PAID UNDER PROTEST — Payable to "PHAT K. TRAN AND STEVEN D. SILVERSTEIN" — Memo: "DUPLICATE JUL 24 RENT/PAID UNDER PROTEST" — Serial #00B412016
PROTEST CHECK
Exhibit — Wells Fargo Complete Wire History — All Payments to Tran
Bank Record
Wells Fargo Premier — Complete Wire Transfer History — PHAT L TRAN — Page 6 of 7
✓ Note: June 2024 payment is ABSENT from wire history — by design — it was a cashier's check, not a wire. Every other month is a wire. The one month with the cashier's check is the month Hanson signed for it and said nothing.
Exhibit — Wells Fargo Branch Receipt — Cashier's Check — May 28, 2024 — 2:20 PM
Bank Receipt
Wells Fargo Branch Transaction Record — Cashier's Check — $4,338.48
✓ Official bank receipt: $4,338.48 cashier's check issued May 28, 2024 at 2:20 PM — emailed to [email protected] — Transaction #213 0246 — This check exceeds the judgment amount of $4,325.00 by $13.48
Exhibit — July 2024 Wire — $5,350 Sent June 28, 2024 — 5 Days Before UD Filed
Critical
July Rent Was Paid Before the Eviction Was Even Filed
The July 2024 wire of $5,350.00 was sent June 28, 2024. Silverstein filed the UD action on July 3, 2024 — five days later. The memo line reads: "Unknown Contract for July payment 27 of 37 on contracts." The court was told defendant did not pay July rent. The bank record proves July rent was paid before the lawsuit was filed. Silverstein then personally collected a second July payment via the protest check. This is conversion — collecting rent that had already been paid.
CC §1511 — Prior tender extinguishes the obligation · PC §484 — Theft by false pretense · 18 U.S.C. §1343 — Wire fraud
Critical Evidence
Wells Fargo Wire Transfer — $5,350.00 — June 28, 2024 — July Rent
⚠ July rent wired June 28 — UD filed July 3 — 5 days AFTER July was paid — Court was told rent was not paid
Exhibit — Second Cashier's Check — Silverstein Named as Co-Payee — April 22, 2025
Smoking Gun
Cashier's Check — $5,338.48 — "Phat K. Tran AND Steven D. Silverstein" — Paid Under Protest
⚠ SILVERSTEIN IS A NAMED PAYEE — Attorney personally collecting money from tenant he evicted — Combined with $500 judgment fee — Documented personal financial interest in manufactured eviction outcome
Exhibit — BHHS General Question Form + DOJ Criminal Fraud Report — February 11, 2025
Multi-Recipient
Email to Hanson Le, BHHS, Homeservices Info, AND [email protected] — Feb 11, 2025
✓ DOJ Criminal Fraud unit was notified February 11, 2025 — BHHS and Hanson Le received formal notice — April 19 wire proof embedded in submission
Exhibit — Surf City HB Contact — Court Caption Shows "Phat L.K. Tran" — No Periods After Initials
Court Caption
Proof of Service — "Phat L.K. Tran vr Michael Gasio" — Jan 21, 2025
Note: Court caption shows "L.K." — Silverstein's search-breaking format uses "L. K." with periods AND space — deliberately different
Mold Inspector
Email to Carol Menendez — HB Mold Inspector — July 19, 2024
"What we tried to do right — tell us in writing you will fix the mold issue for 3 years" — HB mold inspector contacted July 19, 2024 — 16 days after UD filed — Outlet under sink rusted, wet wall on move-in — Turned into State for contract fraud
Legal Analysis — What This Payment Record Proves
27 Consecutive Payments — Zero Default History — Destroys "Habitual Non-Payment" Narrative
The complete wire history shows 27 consecutive monthly payments from January 2023 through June 2024 without a single missed or late payment. Every wire went to "PHAT L TRAN" by name. Tran received and accepted each payment. This is a three-year documented payment history that obliterates any narrative that Michael Gasio was a problem tenant or habitual non-payer. The sole alleged default was the cashier's check month — the one month that was deliberately engineered to fail.
Key Point
June 2024 Is Missing From Wires — Because It Was a Cashier's Check — By Design
The filename of the bank statement exhibit says it all: "bank_statement_only_June_is_Cashers_check_by_design." June 2024 does not appear in the wire history because it was paid via cashier's check — a different instrument. The check was issued May 28 at the Wells Fargo branch, sent via USPS certified mail, and signed for by Hanson Le at BHHS on May 30. Tran's own June 25 text confirms the scheme: the check was received, never deposited, and never reported back to you — allowing Tran to claim nonpayment while secretly holding your money.
CC §1511 — Creditor's act preventing performance excuses the obligation
Double Recovery
July 2024 Rent Collected Twice — $10,688.48 Total
Wire: $5,350.00 sent June 28, 2024 — confirmed by Wells Fargo, balance $10,331.12, memo "July payment 27 of 37 on contracts."
Protest Check: $5,338.48 paid April 22, 2025 — memo "DUPLICATE JUL 24 RENT/PAID UNDER PROTEST."
Two payments for the same month. The court was told July was unpaid. The wire record proves it was paid five days before the UD was filed. Silverstein then collected personally on the second payment. Combined with the $500 judgment attorney fee, Silverstein personally received money that should never have existed — from a default that was manufactured. PC §484 — Theft by false pretense · CC §1572 — Fraud · 18 U.S.C. §1343 — Wire fraud
Protest Check: $5,338.48 paid April 22, 2025 — memo "DUPLICATE JUL 24 RENT/PAID UNDER PROTEST."
Two payments for the same month. The court was told July was unpaid. The wire record proves it was paid five days before the UD was filed. Silverstein then collected personally on the second payment. Combined with the $500 judgment attorney fee, Silverstein personally received money that should never have existed — from a default that was manufactured. PC §484 — Theft by false pretense · CC §1572 — Fraud · 18 U.S.C. §1343 — Wire fraud
Mold Inspector Contact July 19, 2024 — 16 Days Post-Filing
After the UD was filed July 3, you continued pursuing the habitability issue. On July 19, 2024 you emailed City of HB mold inspector Carol Menendez forwarding prior communications about: outlet under the sink rusted out and wet wall conditions present since move-in. The subject line references "3 years" of promised fixes that were never made. This document establishes that the habitability issues predated the tenancy and were ongoing throughout — directly supporting the retaliation defense and the CC §1942.5 claim.
Exhibit — USPS Tracking — Security Deposit Check — Never Received — 18 U.S.C. §1341 Mail Fraud
⚠ FEDERAL MAIL FRAUD — 18 U.S.C. §1341 — SECURITY DEPOSIT NEVER RETURNED
TRACKING NUMBER
9589071052701436618330
SANTA ANA DISTRIBUTION
JULY 2, 2024
8:17 PM — Santa Ana CA
LAST STATUS
IN TRANSIT — ARRIVING LATE
July 9, 2024 — Never delivered
CHECK CASHED?
NO
Silverstein's last trial question confirmed
TRAN'S CLAIM
Mailed "Around June 2"
4–5 day gap before deposit on 28th
RESULT
PAID TWICE UNDER PROTEST
Both Silverstein & Tran signed acknowledging no prior repayment
Live USPS Tracking Screenshot
USPS.com — Tracking #9589071052701436618330 — File: "no_check_in_mail_sorry"
STATUS: MOVING THROUGH NETWORK — NEVER DELIVERED
⚠ ARRIVED SANTA ANA CA DISTRIBUTION CENTER JULY 2, 2024 — STILL "IN TRANSIT" JULY 9 — CHECK NEVER RECEIVED — NEVER CASHED — SEALED FOR FORENSIC PRINTS
THE SCHEME
Tran deposited tenant's security deposit on the 28th — then claimed he mailed it back "around June 2" — a 4–5 day gap. The USPS tracking shows the item arrived at the Santa Ana Distribution Center on July 2, 2024 at 8:17 PM — weeks after the claimed mailing date. It was still "in transit" on July 9. It was never delivered. It was never cashed. The sealed check remains in Michael Gasio's custody and will be dusted for fingerprints in criminal proceedings.
SILVERSTEIN'S LAST QUESTION
At trial, Silverstein's final question to Michael Gasio was: "Did you cash the check?" The answer was No. Silverstein knew the check existed and knew it had not been cashed. He asked this question because he understood its significance. This was not an innocent question — it was an attempt to use the uncashed check against the defendant while concealing that the check was never delivered and the deposit was never returned. Both Tran and Silverstein subsequently signed documents acknowledging no prior repayment had occurred.
▸ 18 U.S.C. §1341 — Mail Fraud: Use of USPS to execute a scheme to defraud — mailing an undelivered check as a false claim of deposit return |
CC §1950.5 — Security deposit must be returned within 21 days of vacate with written itemization |
CC §1950.5(l) — Bad faith retention — statutory damages up to twice the deposit amount