City Attorney files lawsuit to stop Sea Cliff real estate fraud scheme

San Francisco, CA (September 11, 2026) — City Attorney David Chiu has filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the People of the State of California against Brandon Aadee and Diana Peng, alleging a deliberate and sustained scheme to unlawfully take ownership of a Sea Cliff home using forged and fraudulently altered property deeds. The lawsuit describes how the duo’s attempt to illegally take ownership of the home and sell it for profit constitutes an unfair business practice in violation of California law.

“Defendants are effectively trying to steal a house and sell it to make millions in profit,” said City Attorney Chiu. “Several notaries have said defendants forged their signatures or illegally altered the deeds. That is fraud, and they are trying to profit off that crime. This unfair business practice undermines the legal real estate market and wastes scarce government resources. We are asking the court to declare these deeds invalid and stop this fraudulent scheme.”

“Real estate fraud is a serious matter for law enforcement and the courts and I’m glad to see that the City Attorney is helping move it there so this matter may be resolved for the public’s benefit,” said Assessor-Recorder Joaquín Torres.

Background
Between 2013 and 2025, the property at 250 32nd Avenue was believed to be owned by Wei Wang and her husband. At some point, Wang left the country and stopped paying property taxes on the home. The owners owe the City over $320,000 in back taxes. Treasurer José Cisneros has initiated a tax auction process in order to sell the house and recover taxes owed to the City.

In July 2025, Aadee recorded a fraudulent deed that purportedly transferred the property from Wang to Aadee. After the initial fraudulent deed, Aadee and Peng repeatedly transferred the property back and forth between themselves over the course of thirteen months. They have recorded eight deeds, at least five of which contain forged notary signatures, fraudulent stamps, or attestations that were altered after notarization. Multiple notaries have confirmed their signatures or seals were forged or misused. In some cases, notaries reported that while they performed legitimate remote notarizations for Peng, the documents were later changed to falsely reflect that Aadee personally appeared before them when he did not.

At various times, Aadee and Peng have alleged on the deeds that the transfer of the property was pursuant to “divorce” or “dissolution of marriage.” There is no record of the two defendants ever being married. Aadee and Peng both have criminal histories that include fraud‑related offenses.

The defendants have also attempted to sell the home under market value in a quick transaction before anyone could detect the alleged fraud. This indicates Aadee and Peng never intended to live in the home and were focused on obtaining a multi‑million‑dollar windfall from a home they never owned.

This conduct undermines the legal real estate market and violates California’s Unfair Competition Law, which prohibits unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices. The City Attorney’s Office is seeking cancellation and invalidation of all forged deeds recorded during the thirteen‑month period, along with injunctive relief to prevent any further unlawful activity.

The case is People of the State of California v. Brandon Aadee, et al., San Francisco Superior Court. View a copy of the complaint.