A West Hollywood man was arrested on July 29 for posing as a luxury car executive and scamming victims out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Jonathan Tudor, 64, of West Hollywood hosted a private event in November 2024 at a Santa Barbara hotel where he persuaded victims, at least two of whom were West Hollywood residents, to sign contracts and wire payments of roughly $16,000 for luxury vehicles that were never delivered. Tudor posed as a BMW executive and claimed to offer highly discounted, exclusive deals. He was arrested in Santa Barbara and is being held without bail at Santa Barbara County Jail. On July 31, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Jon Savrnoch announced that he filed a felony complaint against Tudor with 44 counts, including theft from an elder, securities fraud, grand theft, witness tampering, money laundering and forgery. Tudor was also charged with an aggravated white-collar fraud enhancement.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department detectives began their investigation on March 30, and executed a search and arrest warrant at Tudor’s residence in the 8200 block of Norton Avenue in West Hollywood on July 29. Deputies seized luxury items from Hermès, Gucci, Fendi and Louis Vuitton valued at more than $250,000. They believe the items were purchased with money stolen from victims…