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Wells Fargo Exec Used Malibu Colony Home Lost by Madoff-Duped Couple

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A top bank executive was seen spending weekends and hosting parties in the $12-million beach house. The bank says it will 'conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations' by neighbors.

The Malibu Colony home formerly owned by Lawrence and Linda Elins is a sleekly modern, 3,800-square-foot, two-story structure built in the early 1990s by clothing designer Nancy Heller. Its huge glass windows look out on a patio, deck and the Pacific. The home's value was recorded at $12 million when the property was transferred May 13 to Wells Fargo Bank.

Bernard L. Madoff's massive fraud stunned some of the wealthy denizens of Malibu Colony, especially when a couple devastated by the scheme surrendered their oceanfront home to Wells Fargo Bank.

But some neighbors say the real shocker came when they saw one of the bank's top executives spending weekends in the $12-million beach house and hosting eye-catching parties there. What's more, Wells Fargo spurned offers to show the property to prospective buyers, a real estate agent said.

“It's outrageous to take over a property like that, not make it available and then put someone from the bank in it," said Phillip Roman, an 18-year Colony resident who lives a few homes away from the property.

Residents identified the house's occupant as Cheronda Guyton, a Wells Fargo senior vice president who is responsible for foreclosed commercial properties.

Guyton could not be reached at her downtown Los Angeles office. Wells Fargo declined to discuss Guyton, saying in a statement that representatives “don't discuss specific team member situations/issues for privacy reasons." But the bank said it would “conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations" by neighbors.

The bank also said its ethics code wouldn't allow employees to make personal use of property that had been surrendered to satisfy debts.

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