By gordonhigh (2015-12-27)
This is one of two Bradbury Estates properties formerly owned by alleged con artist Steve Chen, the mastermind behind the "GemCoin" worldwide Ponzi scam. His Arcadia, CA business headquarters were raided and shut down by the federal regulators in September 2015.
It is believed that Chen first began soliciting money from investors in April 2013. Though the initial SEC complaint against him was for $32 million in fraud, it is believed that he may have actually raked in more than $100 million in cash worldwide in just two years.
Chen purchased this 5,000-square-foot Bradbury Estates mansion in March 2014 for $4.48 million in cash, though the house was never actually used by him as a residence. Instead, it was occasionally used to conduct fundraising for his business but was otherwise left vacant.
In April 2015, according to the link below, Chen filed an application with the City of Bradbury to demolish the existing house and replace it with a 25,000 square foot mega-mansion, which would make it one of the largest homes in the city.
Though application and plans were accepted, the project appears to now be permanently on hold because Chen's bank accounts were frozen in October 2015 and this property was seized by the feds. It will likely be eventually sold at auction.
Chen and his current wife Luyang Li also own another even more expensive Bradbury Estates house just down the street (also featured on this site), where they are believed to still be living as of December 2015.