“In Beverly Hills, the truth always has a way of rising to the top.”
The tagline Kyle Richards utters at the start of every episode of this season’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” may be a bit on the nose if it’s referencing her husband’s legal troubles.
To be sure, having a wife on national television has been hugely beneficial to the Agency co-founder Mauricio Umansky. The exposure has provided free advertising for the company, while showcasing some of the agent’s pricier listings.
But the limelight was unwanted on Tuesday evening, when the lawsuits surrounding Umansky were brought up during the reunion episode of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
The drama started when host Andy Cohen said he had a question from a viewer, “Amy from Texas.” “I guess Kyle isn’t going to mention Mauricio scamming someone out of $37 million when she can just talk about Dorit’s [co-star] dog,” Amy asked through Cohen.
“My husband did not scam anyone,” Richards said. “That causes problems because my husband has never made $36 million in a deal in his life. That’s what the property sold for.”
She added: “so your question from, whoever the fuck Monty in Magootville, saying my husband is scamming people $36 million… that’s a misleading question. The way it was worded is damaging and I don’t appreciate that.”
The backstory: Umansky is facing a lawsuit from the vice president of Equatorial Guinea, who is alleging he misrepresented the value of his mansion in Malibu when he sold it in 2015. Umansky and a partner, Mauricio Oberfeld, bought the home for $33.5 million that year. They flipped it for $70 million a year later, raising allegations of impropriety.
It’s possible the lawsuit could drag in Richard’s fellow “Housewives” on the show. In May, the man suing Umansky filed court documents to seek “communications with any of the performers, producers, directors, writers, or any other persons affiliated” with the television show. The request was made because Umansky and Richards hosted a “Great Gatsby”-themed party at the Malibu property during filming of the show’s seventh season.
A spokesperson for the Agency declined to comment.