| Full Name | Steven D. Silverstein, Esq. |
| California State Bar | #130763 — Active |
| Practice Address | 14351 Red Hill Ave, Ste G · Tustin, CA 92780 · (714) 832-3651 |
| Practice Specialty | Eviction Law — Landlord Only — 46+ years — thousands of cases — OC courts exclusively |
| Role in This Case | Opposing Eviction Counsel — represented Phat L.K. Tran — appeared at all hearings |
| Self-Description | "I have been called overly aggressive in doing these evictions. I plead guilty." |
| Additional Distinction | Judge Pro Tem — OC Courts — has sat as judicial officer in courts where this case was heard |
Silverstein is not a general practitioner who stumbled into eviction work. He is the premier eviction specialist in Orange County — a man who has taught continuing legal education to other attorneys on exactly these procedures, and who has served as a judicial officer in the courts where this case was heard. Ignorance is not a defense available to him.
The following timeline establishes the sequence of Silverstein's actual and constructive knowledge. Each item represents a fact he either personally received, was present to observe, or was legally required to know as lead counsel.
California Penal Code §519 defines extortion as obtaining property through wrongful use of force or fear, including the threat of economic injury. The federal Hobbs Act extends this to extortion affecting interstate commerce — which wire transfers and DocuSign transmission satisfy.
Silverstein directed or participated in communicating to Gasio that the full $14,548 clearance bill must be paid, while in possession of: the 200+ email chain; the Tran text confirming $5,000 rate; the sealed cashier's check evidence; and the city inspector clearance contradicting the invoice.
Key fact: Silverstein's last trial question was "Did you cash the check?" — proving he knew the check issue was central. Directing payment of the full bill after asking that question is not oversight. It is a deliberate act.
Tran testified that the cashier's check was "returned by mail." Silverstein's closing argument rested on this claim. At the time: USPS tracking showed the alleged return letter was still in transit at the time of the hearing — it had not been delivered. The cashier's check remained sealed and unopened in Gasio's possession.
An attorney of 46 years who teaches evidence procedure to other lawyers, who serves as judge pro tem, who drafted or reviewed the 3-Day Notice, and who received the 200+ email chain cannot claim he did not know the "returned by mail" testimony was false.
Penal Code §115 makes it a felony to knowingly file any false instrument in a public office or court. The 3-Day Notice stated rent at $5,350/month. Tran's own text states: "old lease 5000 then new payment 5350." The lease introduced at trial confirmed $5,000.
Under CCP §1161, a 3-Day Notice that overstates rent — by even one dollar — is jurisdictionally void. Silverstein, who teaches unlawful detainer procedure to other attorneys, knows this rule with absolute certainty.
Silverstein introduced or permitted the Ly Construction invoice — a $7,837 document from a family entity for "carpet replacement due to dog pee," dated after a city inspector had cleared the property — without disclosing the contradicting government clearance record.
PC §135 suppression: The city inspector clearance — an independent government document directly contradicting the invoice — was never disclosed. His failure to produce the clearance record while offering the invoice constitutes willful suppression of exculpatory evidence.
The coordinated scheme — the fabricated 3-Day Notice, the family-entity invoice, the suppressed clearance record, the sealed cashier's check never returned, the post-eviction Airbnb conversion — required coordination among multiple actors. Silverstein is the legal architect through whom the scheme was executed in court.
The scheme involved: wire transfers to Hanson Le's personal Wells Fargo account; DocuSign envelope transmission of the fraudulent clearance report and Ly Construction invoice across state lines; courier deliveries to Silverstein's office; and Silverstein's own correspondence transmitted by mail and electronic means.
The honest services provision of 18 U.S.C. §1346 additionally covers an attorney's deprivation of a party's right to honest legal proceedings. The FBI LA Field Office has received a federal referral package. Silverstein's participation in the wire and mail transmissions places him within the scope of that federal investigation.
When Gasio first appeared to present evidence — before retaining Rosiak — he met with "Clint," an attorney who reviewed the case materials and stated he would not want to represent the opposing party. Either path leads to the same conclusion: Silverstein cannot claim he did not know. He received the evidence by courier. He received the video. He was present in court. He asked the closing question about the check.
| # | Evidence Item | How Silverstein Had Access | Criminal Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 200+ email chain — Hanson Le / Tran / payment routing | Delivered by courier to his office multipal times | Knew payment was tendered |
| 02 | 15-minute documentary video — full fraud evidence hard copy also created | Personally delivered to office UPS signature and his clerks office email | Actual receipt documented UPS |
| 03 | Wells Fargo wire confirmation — $5,000 to "Landlord" — Tran texts "Thank You Michael" | In evidence production / email chain | Proves payment made |
| 04 | Tran text: "old lease 5000 then new payment 5350" Pay private account | In email/text chain provided 4/19 | 3-Day Notice overstated — void |
| 05 | DocuSign Envelope #46CC8725 — Le's personal Wells Fargo account # for payments | BHHS corporate email transmission | Misappropriation of rent funds |
| 06 | USPS Tracking — alleged return letter still in transit at hearing paper check for e deposit never tendered | Publicly verifiable — duty to check | "Returned by mail" was false |
| 07 | Sealed personal check — never returned, never cashed | Closing question "Did you cash the check?" = knows it exists | Cure was tendered, not received back |
| 08 | Ly Construction invoice vs. city inspector clearance — 18-day gap | City inspector record is public — duty to verify | Invoice was fabricated |
| 09 | Lease contract — introduced in court at trial | Present in courtroom — personally witnessed | Confirmed $5,000 operative rate |
| 10 | Anna Ly / Ly Construction / AP Silk Arts Inc. family entity chain | DRE records — publicly available | Invoice = self-dealing family entity |
| 11 | Post-eviction Airbnb conversion at 55–57.8% premium | Publicly listed — Airbnb / CRMLS photos | Renovation motive established |
| 12 | Move-out clearance: $2,005 attorney fees charged without court order | He received the clearance document as counsel | Legally impermissible — he knows it |
Independent public records research conducted April 13, 2026 has confirmed that Steven D. Silverstein represented a second Tran family plaintiff in an Orange County residential Unlawful Detainer proceeding six years prior to his representation of Phat L.K. Tran against the complaining party. This establishes Silverstein not as a one-time retained counsel, but as the designated eviction attorney for the Tran family real estate enterprise across multiple properties and multiple years. A 46-year OC eviction specialist does not appear twice for the same family by coincidence.
| Case Title | Thao Tran & Binh Truong vs. Julia Bouvier Bach & Johan Bach |
| Case Number | 30-2018-00982394-CL-UD-CJC |
| Court | Orange County Superior Court |
| Matter Type | Unlawful Detainer — Residential |
| Filing Date | March 27, 2018 |
| Attorney of Record | Steven D. Silverstein — State Bar #130763 — Silverstein Evictions, Tustin CA |
| Co-Plaintiff | Binh Truong — filed Writ of Possession return 05/16/2018 — operational execution role |
| Outcome | Default Judgment — Writ of Possession Wholly Satisfied 05/16/2018 |
| Verified Sources | OC Superior Court civilwebshopping.occourts.org · Trellis.law case/30-2018-00982394-cl-ud-cjc · Verified April 13 2026 |
Thao Tran (plaintiff, 2018 UD) is confirmed as a Tran family member per Whitepages public records: "Family includes Huong T Tran and Phat T Tran." — Thao Phuong Tran, Garden Grove CA 92843 — same zip as Times Investment LLC principal address (14331 Euclid St, Garden Grove CA 92843).
Thao Tran is CEO of Times Investment LLC (real estate investment, filed 2009, Active) and Manager of Lua Homes LLC (property management, filed 2022, Active), both HB-based. She is authorized person on 32 entities per CA SOS records.
1. Retained Family Enterprise Counsel: Silverstein's appearance in 2018 for Thao Tran and in 2024 for Phat Tran — both residential OC UDs — establishes him as the retained eviction attorney for the Tran family real estate network, not a one-time hire. This directly undermines any claim of ignorance regarding the family's eviction practices.
2. Prior Relationship Informs Current Case: As counsel familiar with the Tran family's real estate portfolio and eviction operations since at least 2018, Silverstein cannot credibly claim he was unaware of the enterprise's structure, the Sand Dune Ln hub, or the coordinated nature of the actors.
3. RICO Pattern Element: Under 18 U.S.C. §1961, a pattern requires at least two acts within ten years. Two documented OC residential UDs for the same family network, six years apart, same attorney — Silverstein's participation in both actions places him within the pattern element of the enterprise as the legal enforcement arm.
| Element | 2018 Action | 2024 Action (This Case) |
|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | Thao Tran (confirmed Phat family member) | Phat L.K. Tran D.M.D. |
| Attorney | Steven D. Silverstein | Steven D. Silverstein |
| Court | OC Superior Court | OC Superior Court |
| Matter Type | UD — Residential | UD — Residential |
| Outcome | Default Judgment / Writ Wholly Satisfied | Judgment — Active criminal referral |
| Gap Between Cases | 6 Years — Same Family — Same Attorney — Same Court — Within RICO 10-Year Window | |
VII. Video Evidence —Watch it here
Delivered Personally to Silverstein Hard Copy// Exhibit Reference
A 15-minute video documenting the full evidence of fraud in this case was personally delivered to Steven D. Silverstein's office at 14351 Red Hill Ave, Ste G, Tustin CA 92780 by courier prior to trial proceedings. Receipt is documented. Online clerk@stevendsilverstein.com Silverstein received this video at a time when he could have withdrawn from the case, disclosed the conflicts, or advised his client to settle. He chose none of those options. He proceeded to trial on a void notice with fabricated evidence.
Steven D. Silverstein is not a peripheral figure in this case. He is the legal mechanism through which a fraudulent eviction was executed in Orange County Superior Court. He received the evidence. He watched the video. He was in the courtroom when the lease contract contradicted his client's notice. He asked the closing question that proves he knew the check existed. He then directed or participated in a demand that Gasio pay a $14,548 bill he had every reason to know was fraudulently constructed.
This is not attorney malpractice. Malpractice is negligence. What is documented here is knowing, intentional, coordinated conduct by a 46-year specialist who teaches this exact law to other attorneys and who has served as a judicial officer in the courts where this fraud was perpetrated. He is now confirmed as the retained eviction attorney for the Tran family enterprise, with documented representation spanning 2018 to 2024.
Investigating officers are respectfully requested to: Contact Silverstein for interview · Subpoena courier delivery receipts · Obtain USPS tracking records · Subpoena DocuSign metadata · Review city inspector clearance · Examine sealed cashier's check · Obtain 2018 UD case file 30-2018-00982394 for prior representation documentation