Behind every door was a chance to make money. It was 2020, and Matt DeBoth and Angel Escobar were canvassing Koreatown, Highland Park and other gentrifying Los Angeles neighborhoods, trying to get tenants, mostly working-class immigrants, to give up some of the city’s most affordable apartments. Each time a tenant agreed, DeBoth later said in a deposition, he and Escobar could get a bonus of up to $1,000.
They worked for K3 Holdings LLC, a landlord based in Beverly Hills, California, which was rapidly acquiring dozens of rent-controlled properties across L.A. The company’s plan was to pay the longtime tenants to leave their homes — usually tens of thousands of dollars — and then raise the rent substantially for the next occupants, according to internal K3 records reviewed by Capital & Main.
In spreadsheets, DeBoth and Escobar tracked tenants’ rent — and how much K3 could likely increase it if they left. A “notes” column recorded the company’s progress:…