Adva Lavie and the billionaire romance pulling a political circle into a criminal case
On a polished night in Beverly Hills, the guest list for a March engagement party seemed to tell one story of wealth, loyalty, and power. But the case surrounding adva lavie has turned that setting into something else: a fast-moving criminal matter now colliding with a billionaire donor’s personal life and a congressman’s public image.
Stephen Cloobeck, a billionaire who has supported Rep. Eric Swalwell’s run for California governor, is engaged to Lavie, who also uses the name Shoshana and faces multiple criminal charges tied to alleged burglaries of wealthy older men in Los Angeles. Cloobeck says he sees a misunderstood woman. Prosecutors see a pattern of deception built through dating apps and trust.
What is Adva Lavie accused of?
Prosecutors allege that between 2023 and 2025, Adva Lavie used dating apps to form relationships with wealthy older men and younger women across Los Angeles County, including in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Lavie “exploited trust built through online relationships to gain access to victims’ homes and steal from them. ”
She is set to be arraigned Monday on six felony charges, including two counts of grand theft, two counts of burglary and two counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information. The case does not stand alone as rumor or accusation; it is moving through court on specific allegations tied to property, identity, and access.
In May 2025, police raided Lavie’s Los Angeles apartment on Holt Ave with a search warrant. Detective Andrea March said officers found more than $200, 000 in cash, multiple gold coins and bars, a firearm, and at least 40 items of clothing that Lavie was accused of stealing. The search also turned up 20 pairs of shoes.
How did the allegations spread beyond one apartment?
The claims reach into several homes and several relationships. One set of items found in Lavie’s apartment is believed to belong to Elizabeth Craine, who was storing them in her 80-year-old father Michael Crain’s Beverly Hills mansion while he was dating Lavie. Michael Craine and his daughter later discovered $100, 000 worth of clothes and handbags missing, including Elizabeth Craine’s wedding dress.
Elizabeth Craine testified that she later checked Lavie’s Instagram account and noticed Lavie wearing a zebra-print dress she described as “very distinct, hard to get” and missing from her wardrobe.
Other allegations focus on money taken after dates or online contact. Alireza Salehpour met Lavie at an art festival in Miami and later had dinner with her in Los Angeles. The next day, he received an Apple Pay request for a $50 Uber fare and another $100 for time spent at the restaurant, testimony said. When he refused, Lavie posted his photo on Instagram with the message “ugly, cheap, or broke” and texted that if he did not send the $50, she would not remove it. Salehpour paid, testimony said.
A Hermosa Beach man, Scott Thurman, told police he met Lavie on Tinder and later found fraudulent charges on his credit cards, including spending on cosmetics and airline tickets. When Thurman threatened legal action, he said Lavie accused him of sexual assault. In court, her attorney Louis Shapiro read a text Lavie wrote to Thurman describing a sexual encounter and ending with, “All I asked was forgiveness from you. ”
Another alleged victim, Eden Lynn Strelioff, said she left her purse in a green room while appearing on a Las Vegas podcast on election night in 2025. Someone using the name Mia Ventura, identified as Lavie’s alias, was also on the podcast that night. Strelioff later found two credit cards and $500 missing, and two charges totaling $900 appeared later at a Beverly Hills salon, court papers said.
Why does this case reach beyond a single relationship?
The broader tension lies in the way private relationships can become public liabilities when wealth, politics, and criminal allegations overlap. Cloobeck told the Post that Lavie is not a “menace to society” but a victim like himself. He said, “The story is twisted. Her story has not been told. ” He also said, “She has been abused. I’m a man that has been abused by women. You don’t think I’ve done my homework?”
Swalwell’s connection to Cloobeck is what gives the story its wider political edge. Cloobeck has spent more than $1 million supporting Swalwell’s campaign for California governor, and social media posts show Swalwell appears to have visited Cloobeck’s 9, 700-square-foot mansion repeatedly since September. The congressman has also been seen following Lavie on Instagram. Questions have also surfaced about whether Swalwell truly resides in California, though that issue is separate from the criminal case itself.
For now, the case remains focused on evidence, allegations, and the coming arraignment. But the image that lingers is the same one from the March engagement party: a private celebration inside a double-gated Beverly Hills mansion, now shadowed by an ankle monitor, a criminal filing, and a relationship that has become far larger than either partner expected. In a city built on appearances, adva lavie has become a test of how quickly glamour can give way to scrutiny.
