Stephen Cloobeck, the Diamond Resorts founder who has poured more than $1 million into Rep. Eric Swalwell's California gubernatorial campaign, is engaged to a woman facing six felony charges for allegedly burglarizing wealthy men she met through dating apps. The wedding is planned for June 18 near the Western Wall in Jerusalem, weeks after she is set to be arraigned on charges that could send her to state prison for nearly twelve years.
Adva Lavie, who also goes by Shoshana, is an Israeli OnlyFans model and former Penthouse Pet. Los Angeles County prosecutors allege she used dating apps to cultivate relationships with wealthy older men and younger women across Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and the broader county between 2023 and 2025, then stole from them once she had access to their homes.
The charges include two counts of grand theft, two counts of burglary, and two counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information. Lavie has pleaded not guilty on all counts. If convicted, she faces up to 11 years and eight months in state prison.
Cloobeck, who told the New York Post in an exclusive interview that he began dating Lavie just eight months ago, posted an Instagram video last month showing himself turning around in a crowded room while holding a microphone. "Shoshana, would you be my wife?" he asked. She said yes, and repeated the word in Hebrew.
In March, the couple held an engagement party at Cloobeck's $26 million, 9,700-square-foot Beverly Hills estate. The same estate where, social media posts indicate, Swalwell appears to have visited numerous times since September.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman's office brought the charges against Lavie. Hochman said she "exploited trust built through online relationships to gain access to victims' homes and steal from them." A detective on the case, Angela Lopez, told the Post that Lavie committed crimes against eight victims and showed no remorse.
Cloobeck is not accused of wrongdoing. But his response to the charges was striking. He dismissed the case as misunderstood and cast Lavie as the real victim.
"The story is twisted. Her story has not been told. She has been abused. I'm a man that has been abused by women. You don't think I've done my homework?"
Cloobeck said he conducted a "deep, deep, deep dive" before committing to Lavie. He also claimed she was raped at age 17. He described the prosecution as a case of "a woman being accused by an obsessed elderly man."
The political dimension makes this more than a tabloid curiosity. Cloobeck gave Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign a maximum contribution of $39,200 and threw $1 million into an independent committee supporting Swalwell's bid. Last year, Swalwell reported that Cloobeck gifted him a $31,000 trip to France.
Cloobeck told the Post he was "the one who convinced him to get into the race," referring to Swalwell. He also said Swalwell follows Lavie on Instagram. And he relayed a piece of advice the congressman apparently gave him when they met her.
"Eric told me when I met her, because he's a prosecutor: 'Do your homework, Stephen.'"
Swalwell's campaign did not respond to the Post's emailed questions about his relationship with Cloobeck and Lavie. That silence fits a pattern for a congressman who has faced repeated scrutiny over his personal associations. His long trail of controversies has followed him into the governor's race.
The congressman from Livermore has a well-documented history of entanglements that raise questions about his judgment. FBI Director Kash Patel has moved to unseal files related to Swalwell's ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, a matter Swalwell's own legal team has fought hard to keep sealed.
That episode, involving a woman named Christine Fang who cultivated relationships with California politicians, drew national attention and prompted an effort to release the underlying FBI materials. The parallels to the current story, a political figure's proximity to a woman accused of using personal relationships for exploitation, are hard to miss.
Cloobeck, for his part, seemed unbothered by the optics. He told the Post that "many politicians have met her." He also expressed disappointment that neither the district attorney nor his own lawyer warned him off.
"I'm very disappointed my dear friend Nathan Hochman, and my lawyer David Hochman, did not tell me she's a menace to society."
The line drips with sarcasm. Cloobeck clearly does not believe Lavie is a menace. But prosecutors apparently do, and the eight alleged victims might have a different view as well.
Not everyone shares Cloobeck's confidence. Chanse Corbi, a social media influencer who appeared on season four of "Love Island USA," posted two TikTok videos this month calling out Lavie directly. Corbi said Lavie stole clothes, purses, and money from her and others.
"I know so many people who have been personally affected, including myself, by this girl."
Corbi also questioned Cloobeck's due diligence in blunt terms, asking whether he failed to look Lavie up at all. She added that billionaires are generally smart enough not to let themselves be conned, "so, either he really just didn't know, and that's kind of dumb, or he knew and just didn't care, which is even worse."
Cloobeck pushed back against any suggestion that Lavie is exploiting him. He described the men who pursue women online as the real predators.
"These predators think they get something for it. It's gross, it's disgusting. I never even knew this world existed. There is this whole underbelly of this craziness."
He also rejected the idea that the relationship is moving too fast, despite the eight-month timeline, the pending felony arraignment, and the June wedding date. "I don't think anything's fast," he said. "Guess what, I have a life to lead. Love is love."
In an interview with the San Francisco Standard last year, Cloobeck himself said he had previously been "the victim of a cunning serial fraudster." That admission makes his current certainty about Lavie all the more conspicuous. A man who acknowledges being defrauded before is now staking his reputation, and planning a wedding, on a woman the Los Angeles County District Attorney says exploited trust to steal from people.
For Swalwell, the Cloobeck-Lavie engagement adds another uncomfortable chapter. A congressman who already faces questions about his proximity to foreign intelligence figures is now financially tied to a billionaire whose fiancée is heading to court on felony burglary charges.
Swalwell's campaign took the money. Swalwell accepted the trip to France. Swalwell appears in social media posts at Cloobeck's Beverly Hills mansion. And Swalwell follows Lavie on Instagram. Yet his campaign had nothing to say when asked about it.
The congressman's history of silence on uncomfortable questions is well established. When his lawyers moved to block the release of FBI files related to the Chinese spy case, Swalwell chose legal threats over transparency. The approach here appears identical: say nothing and hope it goes away.
Several questions hang over this story. What court is handling Lavie's case, and what does her defense look like beyond the not-guilty plea? Did Swalwell ever meet Lavie at Cloobeck's home? Did anyone in Swalwell's orbit raise concerns about the association? And how does a gubernatorial candidate justify accepting more than a million dollars in support from a man engaged to a woman facing felony charges, without offering a single public comment?
Cloobeck insists the charges are overblown. Prosecutors say eight people were victimized. The arraignment is set for Monday. The wedding is set for June. And the man bankrolling one of California's most prominent Democratic campaigns is standing by all of it.
An unearthed photo from 2013 showing Swalwell with a senior Chinese diplomat already raised questions about the congressman's ability to recognize a compromising association. This latest chapter suggests the lesson still hasn't landed.
When your biggest donor is marrying a defendant, and your campaign won't return a reporter's email, the silence speaks for itself.
