*

Andrew Stupin faces lawsuits from Banc of California ( BANC ),

Enterprise

Bank, and Nano Banc

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Lawsuits linked to $270 million troubled debt involving

real

estate

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Investor concerns rise as credit issues appear amid bubble

worries

By Douglas Gillison, Saeed Azhar, Anirban Sen and Chris

Prentice

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - A little-known

California real estate investor behind bad loans disclosed by

Zions Bancorp and Western Alliance also faces

lawsuits by Banc of California ( BANC ) and two other lenders,

with his involvement in troubled debt totaling around $270

million, court filings show.

In separate actions between April and August, Banc of

California ( BANC ), Enterprise Bank & Trust and Nano Banc sued the

investor, Andrew Stupin, seeking to collect on loans worth a

combined $108 million.

Stupin, a long-time California real estate investor who owns

a high school football team, is listed as a guarantor on loans

and is one of the defendants in those cases.

PMF CA REIT, a real estate investment firm, has also sued

Stupin and others to recover nearly $7 million, the filings

show.

An attorney for Stupin said the Western Alliance claims

against his client were unfounded and misrepresented the facts.

Enterprise, Nano and Banc of California ( BANC ) declined to comment.

Jennifer Tullius, a lawyer representing PMF, said her client had

no comment.

The lawsuits shine new light on surprise disclosures last week

at Zions and Western Alliance that spooked markets, with

investors already on edge after the bankruptcies of U.S. auto

parts supplier First Brands and car dealership Tricolor.

The auto companies saddled big Wall Street names, including

Jefferies and JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ), with losses, and

prompted Jamie Dimon, the largest U.S. bank's CEO, to warn of

more "cockroaches," or bad loans in banks' books.

While shares rebounded, investors remain jittery. They fear a

searing rally in stocks, driven by euphoria about artificial

intelligence, has stretched valuations and created asset price

bubbles, while the effects of the Trump administration's tariffs

and other policies are yet to work through the economy. In such

an environment, bad surprises and signs of trouble that are not

fully understood can quickly snowball, analysts said.

Regional banks tend to lend in concentrated local

geographies and typically have a higher exposure to commercial

real estate compared with the country's largest lenders.

"We wouldn't be surprised if more boards are asking bank

management teams to scrub through their loan portfolios for

similar issues," said Manan Gosalia, banking analyst at Morgan

Stanley, in a note.

Zions is set to report third-quarter results after market

close on Monday.

BANKS' LOSSES TRIGGER SELLOFF

The selloff in regional banks rippled through global markets

after Zions disclosed on Wednesday that it was suing two Cantor

Group funds to recover $60 million in soured commercial and

industrial loans. The next day, Western Alliance flagged that it

had sued a different Cantor Group fund in August to recover

nearly $100 million, alleging fraud on the part of the

borrower.

Both suits make similar allegations -- that investment funds

tied to the little-known California-based Cantor Group

misrepresented the collateral they pledged against real estate

loans, exposing the banks to losses. The properties in the cases

largely involve California commercial real estate, such as

store-fronts and office buildings.

Zions alleged that the funds and guarantors "orchestrated a

scheme" to secretly transfer or subordinate the collateral on

the loans. Western Alliance alleged that the Cantor fund forged

title insurance policies to obscure the fact other banks already

had a claim on the underlying properties pledged as collateral.

Stupin is involved as a defendant in both the Zions and

Western Alliance cases. His co-defendants also include another

individual, named Gerald Marcil.

Marcil is also a real estate developer in California and a

licensed real estate salesperson, according to public records.

Cantor Group LLC, which has no relationship to the Wall

Street investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, does not appear to

have a website. Its registration shows it was incorporated in

2015 and is currently based in Newport Beach, California.

Stupin did not respond to Reuters' emails and calls seeking

comment. His attorney, Brandon Tran, addressed the Western

Alliance allegations, saying the claims against Stupin and

Marcil were unfounded and misrepresented the facts. Tran did not

comment on the other cases involving Stupin.

Marcil did not respond to calls seeking comment.

Spokespeople for Zions did not respond to a Reuters request

for comment. Western Alliance declined to comment beyond the

litigation.

OTHER LAWSUITS TIED TO CALIFORNIA PROPERTIES

In a regulatory filing, Zions said it became aware of legal

actions by "several banks and other lenders against parties that

appeared to be affiliated," but did not elaborate.

A Reuters review of outstanding cases against Cantor Group,

Stupin and Marcil revealed the other five lawsuits this year.

Those five suits allege Stupin guaranteed the roughly $115

million in loans, which are now in default, tied to properties

near Los Angeles and San Francisco. Combined with the Western

Alliance and Zions loans, that puts Stupin's ties to bad loans

at more than $270 million, the Reuters review of the filings

found.

During a Laguna Beach, California, city council meeting in May

2023, Stupin said he "been doing real estate ventures for almost

50 years," and had lived in the area for most of his life.

Stupin -- along with Marcil -- is also one of the largest

investors in Continuum Analytics, an entity that invests in

distressed real estate assets, the legal filings show. A

representative for Continuum could not be reached for comment.

Outside of his real estate interests, Stupin owns a high

school touch football club team, according to the club's

website.

(Writing by Michelle Price; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Nick

Zieminski)