Worried friends of billionaire, 64, reveal their VERY unflattering private description of his fiancée, 28, amid concerns she is a 'master manipulator'

By JAMES CIRRONE, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:30, 14 May 2026 | Updated: 00:55, 14 May 2026 Real estate billionaire Stephen Cloobeck, 64, is now facing charges after allegedly threatening witnesses and victims in his 28-year-old fiancée's criminal case. Cloobeck's friends reportedly told him to break it off with the model and influencer Adva Lavie, whom he got engaged to on Valentine's Day this year. 'A lot of the people who were involved in his life tried to help and he didn’t want the help, and they’ve chosen to walk away because it’s too toxic,' a source familiar with the situation told the New York Post. That source called Lavie a 'master manipulator'. A little over a month after the two decided to tie the knot, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office formally charged Lavie with repeatedly carrying out a scheme in which she gained the trust of wealthy older men she met on dating apps before allegedly stealing luxury items from their homes. That was after Lavie, who went by the aliases Shoshana and Mia Ventura, was arrested in November 2025. In late March, she was charged with two counts of grand theft, two counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information and two counts of residential burglary. Cloobeck was arrested on Tuesday morning on suspicion of attempting to prevent or dissuade witnesses from testifying in Lavie's case. He was released after posting $300,000 bail. Cloobeck allegedly made threats of violence against multiple of her alleged victims, including businessman Michael Craine, Scott Thurman and Mike Farag. Stephen Cloobeck, 64, was arrested on Tuesday after authorities said he threatened the alleged victims of his 28-year-old fiancée, Adva Lavie Lavie has been charged with six felony counts after being accused of meeting men on dating apps and burglarizing their homes He was also charged with a misdemeanor count after he allegedly made repeated phone calls to Lavie's attorney, Lou Shapiro, to swear at him and threaten him and his family, according to the Los Angeles Times. Cloobeck has denied the charges against him, calling them false through a statement from his lawyer, Elias Dabaie. 'We look forward to our day in court,' Dabaie added. Prosecutors said that from 2023 to 2025, Lavie established relationships with men living in Westlake Village, West Hollywood, Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. Lavie then allegedly posed as their girlfriend so she could gain access to their homes and steal cash, gold and designer items, prosecutors claimed. She has pleaded not guilty and if convicted, she faces up to 11 years and eight months in prison. Cloobeck began dating Lavie in late 2025, right when authorities were zeroing in on her. It's not the first time Cloobeck has been involved with a woman much younger than him. Cloobeck previously dated Stefanie Gurzanski, an OnlyFans model he later sued for allegedly extorting him. Cloobeck also briefly ran for California before dropping out in November 2025 to endorse former Congressman Eric Swalwell. Swalwell was later accused of sexual misconduct by several women After getting divorced from his wife of 22 years, he began seeing Stefanie Gurzanski, an OnlyFans model he later sued for allegedly extorting him. His lawsuit claimed Gurzanski got him to spend $1.3 million on her during their five-month courtship. Such purchases included designer bags, watches, clothing, shoes and lavish meals. Gurzanski denied this and said in court documents that she was 'incessantly harassed' by Cloobeck. Cloobeck was briefly in the race last year to be California's next governor. He dropped out in November and subsequently endorsed disgraced former Congressman Eric Swalwell. Cloobeck donated $1 million to Swalwell and was one of his biggest contributors. He told the Los Angeles Times that Swalwell stayed at his house after he was accused of sexual misconduct by several women but later kicked him out. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.