Property swaps

It took several years after I first wrote about them, but the reporter who digs into all things about that celebrity cult which loves space, finally caught on to all the property swaps made to hide the assets of the former A- list actor/serial rapist.

Tony Ortega – Scientology

Danny Masterson

If the feds are sniffing around, they might look at Danny Masterson’s besties

In October we reported on a new development in the lawsuit filed by Danny Masterson’s rape accusers against the That ’70s Show actor and the Church of Scientology.

The lawsuit was filed in August 2019, alleging that Masterson and the church had conducted a campaign of harassment against the women since they came forward in 2016 with their allegations to the Los Angeles Police Department. The lawsuit was about that harassment, and not about the rape allegations themselves.

But then on June 16 Masterson was charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office for raping three of the women who are suing him. He’s facing 45 years to life in prison, and he’s scheduled to be arraigned on January 6.

The new development we reported on October 11 was that Masterson, as expected, had filed a motion asking the court in the civil lawsuit to put a hold on some things as he’s facing criminal charges and the possibility of a rape trial. It could be potentially disastrous to him if the civil case requires him to give a deposition, for example, which would be testimony that could be used against him by the DA’s office. So it makes sense that Masterson wants to rein in the civil case in the meantime.

But even if that motion was expected, there was something very surprising in that court document which we referred to in our story, and so far none of the other media has bothered to point it out.

In a letter attached to Masterson’s motion, it was revealed that one of his accusers, the woman going by “Jane Doe #1” in the lawsuit and that we have also been referring to as Victim B, asked Masterson to turn over any documents related to “Grand Jury proceedings” and also any information about the involvement of other law enforcement agencies besides the LAPD and District Attorney’s office.

We figure it was a bit of a bombshell that one of Danny Masterson’s accusers, at least, seems to think he knows about a grand jury looking into this case, and the prospect of another agency investigating, which seems to be a pretty clear reference to the feds.

Are the feds looking at this situation? We can’t say for certain, although we’ve certainly heard some interesting things. And what would the feds be looking into? The victims in this case have repeatedly complained about the church conspiring to keep them from getting justice. And there’s plenty that they’ve alleged in the civil lawsuit for law enforcement to dig into.

It’s a tantalizing possibility, and we’ll keep looking for a sign that a federal case is also being developed.

In the meantime, we wanted to bring up one odd situation that we hope investigators take some time to look into.

It’s something that we learned about very soon after we first broke the news of the LAPD investigation into Masterson in March 2017. And it involves some property swaps that sure look suspicious.

As we’ve reported before, Victim B/Jane Doe #1 alleges that she was attacked by Masterson at his house on the night of a party in April 2003. In subsequent weeks, she alleges that the Church of Scientology tried to keep her from going to the LAPD with her allegations, and also put her through about $15,000 of past life therapy to help her understand what evil things she had done in previous centuries and millennia that would explain why she had become a victim in this lifetime.

But despite that treatment by the church, in June 2004 she went to the LAPD, which opened an investigation. The church responded by convincing the LAPD to close the case by filing numerous affidavits by church members denying that the attack had occurred. In September 2004, with the LAPD investigation shut down, Masterson then had his attorney, famous entertainment lawyer Marty Singer, present the woman with an offer for payment as long as she signed a non-disclosure agreement and promised never to talk about her allegations. Pressured by the church to sign the agreement or she would be excommunicated (“declared a suppressive person”), she signed and received something in the low six figures.

That same month, in September 2004, Danny Masterson then made two curious financial moves.

On September 15, 2004 he transferred ownership of a two-story, seven-bedroom, 3-unit apartment house on Clinton Street in Echo Park to his assistant, a woman named Brie Shaffer.

The same day, Masterson and his close friend Ben Shulman transferred ownership of another property, a 4-unit apartment house on Edgeware Road in Silver Lake, also to Shaffer.

Why, the same month Masterson had convinced his rape accuser to sign an NDA, would he transfer two of his properties to his assistant?

Legal experts point out to us that although Victim B had signed an NDA and had promised not to speak out, Masterson must have known that there was still the possibility that she might sue him. Any property he owned, they tell us, might have been drawn into the conflict.

But Victim B had only two years to file a lawsuit based on the incident that happened in April 2003.

And it’s what Masterson did in April 2005, two years later, that really caught our attention.

After those two years had passed and it was obvious that Victim B was not going to sue Masterson, the actor made two financial moves.

On April 15, 2005, Brie Shaffer transferred ownership of 1913-1915 Clinton Street back to her boss, Danny Masterson.

And on April 28, 2005, Shaffer transferred ownership of 827-833 Edgeware Road back to Masterson.

The Clinton Street house today is valued at about $1.2 million. The Edgeware Road building at $1.9 million. – Source