Olteanu v. Gonzales

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedApril 14, 2025
Docket3:24-cv-02347
StatusUnknown

This text of Olteanu v. Gonzales (Olteanu v. Gonzales) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Olteanu v. Gonzales, (N.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 ANDREEA MELISSA OLTEANU, Case No. 24-cv-02347-JSC

8 Plaintiff, ORDER RE: DEFENDANTS’ MOTION 9 v. TO COMPEL OR DISMISS & PLAINTIFF’S VARIOUS MOTIONS 10 ERIC GONZALES, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 104, 119, 120, 122, 123 Defendants. 11

12 13 Plaintiff sues Defendants for an alleged financial conspiracy to syphon money from a trust. 14 (Dkt. No. 100.)1 Defendants Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (“Merrill Lynch”), and 15 Mr. Eric Gonzales (collectively, “Moving Defendants”) move to compel arbitration or, 16 alternatively, dismiss the complaint. (Dkt. No. 104.) After carefully considering the arguments 17 and briefing submitted, the Court concludes oral argument is unnecessary, see Civ. L.R. 7-1(b), 18 and DENIES Moving Defendants’ motion to compel, but DISMISSES Plaintiff’s Second 19 Amended Complaint (“SAC”) without further leave to amend. 20 BACKGROUND 21 I. SAC Allegations 22 Plaintiff alleges Defendants formed “a complex and multifaceted scheme” to defraud her 23 “out of significant assets that rightfully belong to her as the primary beneficiary of the Michael & 24 Anca Olteanu Trust [the ‘Trust’].” (Dkt. No. 100 ¶ 1.) As with her First Amended Complaint 25 (“FAC”), Plaintiff makes several allegations as to all “Defendants.” The Court first summarizes 26 allegations made as to all Defendants and then as to each Defendant. 27 1 A. Allegations Summary 2 “Defendants engaged in a concerted effort to embezzle funds, commit wire and mail fraud, 3 breach fiduciary duties, and intentionally inflict emotional distress upon her.” (Id.) Plaintiff 4 alleges a scheme whereby Defendants embezzled money from the Trust to which she was the 5 primary beneficiary. (Id.) Funds from the Trust were used to establish “a series of shell 6 companies” in Romania which were themselves used to launder illicit funds. (Id. ¶ 12.) Plaintiff 7 alleges this scheme led to “three assassination attempts” against her and ultimately to her 8 husband’s death. (Id. ¶ 33; 88-93.) Plaintiff brings the following causes of action: 9 (1) Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) Violations under 18 10 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1968; 11 (2) Wire Fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343; 12 (3) Mail Fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341; 13 (4) Money Laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956; 14 (5) Money Laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1957; 15 (6) Violating the Bank Secrecy Act under 31 U.S.C. §§ 5311- 5330; 16 (7) Violating Title III of the Patriot Act, 31 U.S.C. § 5318; 17 (8) Violating the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, 26 U.S.C. §§ 6038D, 1471-1474; 18 (9) Child Financial Exploitation, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5101-5118e; 19 (10) Wrongful Death under California Civil Code § 377.60; 20 (11) Injunction of an Obstruction of Justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1514; 21 (12) Embezzlement and Conversion under 18 U.S.C. § 641; 22 (13) Breach of Fiduciary Duty under 29 U.S.C. § 1109; 23 (14) Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; 24 (15) Civil Conspiracy; 25 (16) Reckless Endangerment under 10 U.S.C. § 914; 26 (See generally id.) Plaintiff’s opposition brief asserts claims 2-9, 10-12, and 16 “are not asserted 27 as stand-alone causes of action under the cited statutes but rather as predicate acts to establish a 1 The Court recites allegations against each Defendant below. 2 B. Eric Gonzales 3 Mr. Gonzales is an employee of Merrill Lynch. (Id. at 10-11 ¶ i.) He “played a central 4 role in the scheme by using his position and expertise to facilitate the illegal transfer of Trust 5 assets to accounts controlled by himself and other Defendants.” (Id.) He “initiate[d] fraudulent 6 transfers of Trust funds to accounts controlled by himself and co-conspirators,” (id. ¶ 45) and 7 “[s]ent fraudulent account statements through the mail to misrepresent the financial status of the 8 Trust.” (Id. ¶ 54.) Further, by “facilitating the embezzlement of Trust assets,” he helped “create[] 9 the financial distress that led to” the death of Ms. Olteanu’s late husband, Mr. Porcelli. (Id. ¶ 90.) 10 Plaintiff sues Mr. Gonzales for Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, & 16. 11 C. Anca Olteanu 12 Anca Olteanu, (“Mrs. Olteanu”) is Plaintiff’s mother and trustee of the Trust. (Id. at 11 ¶ 13 ii.) She “conspired with other Defendants to misappropriate funds and transfer them to accounts 14 outside of the Plaintiff’s reach.” (Id.) She “authorized fraudulent transactions and concealed the 15 diversion of funds through falsified records.” (Id. ¶ 45.) And she “[p]layed a role in transferring 16 and concealing Trust assets through opaque transactions.” (Id. ¶ 71.) Mrs. Olteanu also 17 “intentionally directed laundered money into the bank accounts of the Plaintiff’s minor children.” 18 (Id. ¶ 81.) Finally, she “conspir[ed] with the other Defendants to misappropriate Trust assets, 19 further destabilizing the Plaintiff’s financial situation and indirectly contributing to the 20 circumstances leading to [Mr. Porcelli’s] death.” (Id. ¶ 91.) 21 Plaintiff sues Mrs. Olteanu for all Claims. 22 D. Louis Schneider 23 Mr. Schneider is a Nevada attorney who “provided legal advice and representation to Anca 24 Olteanu and other Defendants, helping them to navigate legal challenges and avoid detection by 25 authorities.” (Id. at 11 ¶ iii.) He “provided legal guidance to the enterprise, shielding its activities 26 from scrutiny” by “orchestrating fraudulent filings and aiding in obstructing investigations.” (Id. ¶ 27 45.) He further crafted “legal documentation and financial arrangements to legitimize the 1 Mr. Schneider “conspired to murder Mark Porcelli in order to seize his $550,000 in home 2 equity and other assets.” (Id. ¶ 88.) “Schneider and Ford2 were integral to obstructing the sale of 3 the Plaintiff’s Nevada property,” and these actions “created a dangerous environment that led 4 directly to [Mr. Porcelli’s] murder.” (Id. ¶¶ 88, 89.) 5 Plaintiff sues Mr. Schneider for Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, & 16. 6 E. Angela, Calin, & Calin Niculescu 7 Angela, Calin and Costin Niculescu (the “Niculescus”) “used their personal and business 8 accounts to launder the misappropriated funds, making it difficult for the Plaintiff to trace and 9 recover her assets.” (Id. at 11-13 ¶ iv, vii.) “The Niculescu family used Anca Olteanu’s accounts 10 for money laundering, sending $30,000/month via Western Union to California.” (Id. at 25.) 11 Their actions obscured “the financial trail and worsen[ed] the Plaintiff’s financial difficulties … 12 contributing to the financial turmoil that led to [Mr. Porcelli’s] death.” (Id.

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Olteanu v. Gonzales, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/olteanu-v-gonzales-cand-2025.