Man Is Fined $8,000 for Slum Code Violations

A judge fined an Encino man more than $8,000 after he pleaded no contest to criminal slum violations at a 76-unit Los Angeles apartment building he owns, authorities announced Tuesday.

Ramin Akhavan, 32, was sentenced Monday by Los Angeles Municipal Judge David Minning after entering a plea on eight violations of health, building and safety codes on his three-story apartment building on the 700 block of South Westlake Avenue, said Deputy City Atty. Ken Kambara.

Akhavan was ordered to pay a total of $8,131, including $4,720 in fines and penalty assessments, and $1,411 in investigative costs and restitution fines, Kambara said.

He was also ordered to make a $2,000 donation to one of three nonprofit organizations--the Harbor Interfaith Shelter, AIDS Project Los Angeles or the Downtown Women’s Center--and sentenced to three years’ probation.

Several Slum Housing Task Force inspections conducted over the summer revealed holes in the walls and ceilings, apartments without heat, broken windows and unprotected electrical lines, among other problems, Kambara said, adding that Akhavan had repeatedly refused orders to fix the problems.