Westlake Village man pleads guilty in hotel embezzlement
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

A Westlake Village man has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $12 million from the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Hollywood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported last week.

Kelly Timothy Ebert, 39, faces 20 years in prison on two counts of wire fraud and one count of felony firearm possession, according to Assistant U.S. Atty. Greg Weingart. Federal Judge William Matthew Byrne will sentence Ebert on Aug. 11.

"The parties will argue (the sentence) to the court and it will be up to the judge to make the final judgment," Weingart said.

Ebert, who was the hotel’s accountant, siphoned the money into his personal accounts and, among other actions, took $500,000 from the Hollywood Standard Hotel to help cover the theft, Weingart said.

Both the Chateau Marmont and the Hollywood Standard are owned by hotelier Andre Balazs of New York City. Ebert was hired as controller of the Chateau Marmont in 1993 and was named controller at the Hollywood Standard when Balazs and his investors opened the hotel in 1998.

Ebert used the money he stole to purchase and improve a $2.3 million home near Lake Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, to operate various businesses, including a Santa Barbara bed and breakfast, and to purchase automobiles and celebrity memorabilia, the complaint said.

The scheme enabled Ebert to take control of Chateau Marmont’s credit card deposits—which were supposed to go the Bank of Orange County—and transfer the funds to a destination of his own choosing.

Ebert used several different methods to hide his theft. At the Hollywood Standard, he ordered an assistant to wait at the front desk for the mail to arrive and to remove all incriminating bank statements. Many of the documents were simply shredded.

Ebert worked at both hotels until late 2001 when the Hollywood Standard fired him for failing to meet a hotel mortgage payment. Chateau Marmont fired Ebert in March 2002 after the hotel incurred a $100,000 penalty for the missed payment.

Ebert had eight firearms in his home when authorities arrested him and because he had a prior felony—he was guilty of forgery in Colorado in 1987—officials also charged him with felony firearm possession.

The weapons charge carries a 10-year sentence. The combined wire fraud charges also carry 10 years.

Weingart said he’s pleased to have the guilty plea, but that he was prepared to go to trial if necessary. "If he wanted to go to trial, I would have been happy to present the evidence," Weingart said.