"I feel like I've been dancing with the devil," said Scott S., of West Hollywood, who believes his once friendly neighbor is actually a serial scammer.
Investigators in Santa Barbara County say 64-year-old Jonathan Tudor of West Hollywood claimed to be a BMW executive - promising brand new cars for a fraction of the price.
"He was very clever, very charming. He knows how to talk and he doesn't show any red flags," said Gloria Schlesinger of South L.A.
She says she met Tudor at the Gelson's around the corner from where she works.
Schlesinger says she agreed to give him almost $14,000 for a new BMW. But the car never came. And she's not alone.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, there are more than 40 victims. That includes Tudor's neighbor, Scott S.
"There had been... a couple of people in the neighborhood that he had sold that to, and I thought, 'Oh, they're pretty with it, so sounds like a legitimate thing'... and he offered me the same deal," he said.
After four reports of the same scam in Santa Barbara County, video shows sheriff deputies arresting him around 6 a.m. at his home on July 29.
He was sitting in his BMW at the time - that car still parked here today.
"When I heard he got arrested, it was kind of a relief. It was like a weight off the shoulders," Scott S. said.
And that stolen money didn't disappear - it was spent on luxury goods, according to the sheriff's department. Brands like Hermès, Gucci and Saint Laurent filled his closet.
He's now facing 44 criminal charges filed by the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office, including theft from an elder, securities fraud, grand theft, witness dissuasion, money laundering and forgery.
"I want to see him in jail for the rest of his life. He cannot get out. He did this to other people, so I'm just very heartbroken, devastated and mad," Schlesinger said.
Tudor is in custody in Santa Barbara on a no-bail hold. According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Tudor is a dual citizen in the U.S. and the U.K.
There is a preliminary setting hearing for Aug. 26.