In its previous incarnation as CitiApartments and Lembi properties, this San Francisco company made headlines with “a stunning array of unlawful business and tenant harassment practices” during the lawsuit and subsequent injunction obtained by City Attorney Herrera. After paying bloated prices - sometimes 16x the asking price, the Lembi empire would dispatch armed security guards to harass tenants in order to scare them out of their rent-controlled apartments. Tactics included breaking into apartments, shutting off utilities, changing locks, and retaliating against those who refuse to take buy-outs.. By 2011, the vast Lembi empire was in default. LNR, a subsidiary of the Lennar Company, acquired and resold the Lembi properties to investment groups such as Prado Group, Area Property Partners, Woodmont Company, and CIM Group. Many of the former Lembi properties are now controlled by Veritas LLC, San Francisco’s biggest landlord.
