"Well, a couple weeks ago, there was this huge party, and there was a big yacht offshore, and there was a dingy going back and forth taking all these people which got everyone's attention," comments Elaine Johnson, a neighbor.
The problem is, the home was turned over to Wells Fargo last May by its owners who were facing financial ruin after getting caught up in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the prior owner's realtor says they tried to lease the home and even found several interested buyers but Wells Fargo wouldn't allow the property to be shown.
However, according to Wells Fargo, an agreement with the prior owner of the home required the bank to keep it off the market for a period of time.
"The property is probably worth $100,000 a month in the summer. So, it's a huge amount of money," adds Johnson.
Meantime, the Los Angeles Times identified the Wells Fargo executive allegedly squatting in the home as Cheronda Guyton, a senior vice president in charge of the bank's forclosed commercial properties.
No one answered the door at Guyton's Fairfax home today.
Wells Fargo, however, released a statement saying, "We are thoroughly investigating this situation and wil take decisive action with respect to any team member who may have violated Wells Fargo's policies. The allegations certainly do not reflect the conduct we expect of our team members."
Another Malibu resident says that the actions of the Wells Fargo executive are reprehensible.
"Wells Fargo needs to apologize to Malibu for bringing it here, they really do. They need to apologize through the media and any other appropriate manners," says the resident who wanted to remain anonymous, "it's just wrong."
Friday afternoon, Wells Fargo stated that it regrets any disruption Malibu Colony homeowners had to deal with since the allegations came to light.
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