Model Claims $2.1M Heist at Supposedly Secure LA Luxury Building

When you’re paying $12,000 a month for an apartment, you’re buying more than square footage and city views—you’re buying the promise of safety. Model and musician Natalia Barulich, who once dated Maluma, thought she’d found exactly that at the upscale 8500 Burton Way building in Los Angeles, a property tied to real estate mogul Rick Caruso. The building’s marketing spoke the language every luxury resident wants to hear: round-the-clock security, controlled access, pristine track record. Then came October 2025.

While Barulich was traveling internationally, burglars breached what was supposed to be a fortress. They moved through the building undetected, spent hours rifling through her unit, and walked away with more than $2.1 million in designer handbags, watches, jewelry, and other valuables. According to her lawsuit, the suspects rode an elevator for an extended period, navigated to her floor, and escaped through the garage—all while cameras, door locks, and every other security system failed in sequence.

What makes this story darker than a typical high-profile heist is what allegedly happened next. Barulich claims the building’s management refused to cooperate with her investigation, concealed security information, and then dangled an escape route: she could exit her lease—but only if she signed a non-disparagement agreement. Access logs showed building security had entered her unit while she was away, and some staff members openly speculated it might’ve been an“inside job.”Even more troubling, the building apparently never disclosed a prior burglary that had occurred just doors away before she moved in.

Now Barulich is suing for negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and fraud. Her case raises a hard question about luxury real estate: how much liability should fall on buildings that sell security as a core product? When a landlord explicitly promises round-the-clock protection and controlled access, and then delivers neither, that’s not just a break-in—it’s a breach of contract written in $2.1 million. The building hasn’t responded to requests for comment, but the pressure is building. If Barulich’s allegations hold up, it could reshape how upscale apartment buildings approach both security infrastructure and tenant accountability after a breach.