Wells Fargo Cans Squatting Senior VP For Using $12M Beachfront REO As Party House

In Malibu, California, The Los Angeles Times reports:

• Moving to contain a public relations mess, Wells Fargo & Co. fired a top executive accused of using a bank-owned Malibu beach house to entertain her family and friends. Cheronda Guyton, a senior vice president responsible for commercial foreclosed properties, broke company rules barring personal use of bank property, Wells Fargo said in a statement Monday. The Times reported last week that Guyton had been spotted by neighbors spending time at the Malibu Colony home with her family this summer. At a party in August, guests were ferried to the beach house from a yacht, residents of the enclave said.

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• Wells Fargo's quick action after The Times' report last week reflects the bank's recognition that the case could become a liability, especially in light of its acceptance of federal bailout money, ethics experts said.

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• Wealthy real estate shoppers who had gotten wind of the house being held by the bank said they were frustrated they could not offer to buy it. Local real estate agents said they began to get calls from eager would-be buyers -- but the house wasn't for sale.

For more, see Wells Fargo fires executive accused of using bank-owned Malibu home (Cheronda Guyton, a senior vice president responsible for commercial foreclosed properties, had been seen by neighbors using the Malibu Colony house lost by victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme).

See also:

• The Wall Street Journal's Deal Journal blog: Wells Fargo CEO Speaks Out on Malibu Foreclosure Fracas,
• The Malibu Times: Colony party home on the market for $21. 5 million (The Wells Fargo executive who threw lavish, loud parties at the foreclosed Malibu Colony home during the summer has been fired).