Pair Charged in Alleged Swindle

Two West Hollywood interior designers accused of swindling more than $600,000 from noted burn surgeon Richard Grossman must answer to grand theft charges, a Van Nuys Municipal Court judge ruled Tuesday.

After testimony alleging that the pair failed to outfit Grossman’s Ventura County home with furnishings, decorations and other materials between October 1994 and August 1996, Judge Gregg Marcus ruled that there was enough evidence to try designers David Sweeney and Dennis Wilcut in Superior Court.

“This was a betrayal of trust,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Lea D’Agostino. “It was not an arms-length transaction.”

The physician, who is medical director of the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital, and his longtime business manager, Eugene Kaufman, testified that Sweeney and Wilcut were paid one-third of their fee in addition to the cost of the goods. In exchange, the pair were supposed to purchase items, including paintings, a wooden mantle, fabric lamps and a limestone well head.

However, Grossman contended, less than $100,000 worth of goods and services were actually delivered. The doctor said both decorators apologized to him and said they would have to declare bankruptcy if he ended their business relationship.

Attorneys for Sweeney and Wilcut would not comment on the case. Their clients, each free on $25,000 bail, are scheduled to be arraigned March 25 in Van Nuys Superior Court.