A Beverly Hills woman who promoted herself online as the “queen of real estate” is now facing serious criminal charges after prosecutors say she filed dozens of fraudulent multimillion-dollar liens against unsuspecting homeowners across Los Angeles County.

Rita Cedeno Ortiz, 58, was arrested Feb. 26 and charged with 25 counts of aggravated felony forgery in connection with what investigators describe as a sweeping scheme involving bogus mechanic’s liens totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

Booking and charging records show Ortiz is currently being held at the Century Regional Detention Facility on $700,000 bail.

Authorities say the alleged fraud exploited a relatively simple legal process used by contractors to recover unpaid work.

In California, contractors and service providers can file what’s known as a mechanic’s lien against a property if they claim they were not paid for labor or improvements performed on the home. Once filed with the county recorder’s office, the lien can prevent a homeowner from selling or refinancing the property until the dispute is resolved.

Prosecutors allege Ortiz weaponized that system.

According to investigators, Ortiz filed a flurry of liens claiming homeowners owed her enormous sums of money — often tens of millions of dollars — for work she allegedly never performed and for people she had never even met.

Public records cited in a recent investigation revealed that Ortiz Consulting LLC, a company she founded and runs, has filed at least 35 mechanic’s liens since 2023 alone. The combined value of those claims reportedly exceeds $568 million.

One homeowner, professional house flipper Marjorie Josaphat, said she was stunned to discover that her property in Benedict Canyon had been hit with multiple liens totaling more than $100 million.

Josaphat had purchased the three-bedroom home last year with plans to renovate and sell it.

She only discovered the liens when preparing to list the property.

“I don’t know who Rita Ortiz is,” Josaphat told KABC. “This place was abandoned. There’s nothing to clean.”

The filings from Ortiz Consulting claimed massive unpaid fees for services including “cleaning services” and “business consulting services.”

Josaphat said the claims were not only false but absurd.

“If she did a job of $24 million, then she owes me money because this place was really a mess,” she said.

Investigators say Ortiz also filed similarly massive liens against neighboring homes on the same street, leaving residents bewildered.

Several homeowners told reporters they had never hired Ortiz or had any business dealings with her.

Despite the allegations, Ortiz has maintained that she is the victim.

In messages sent to reporters, she claimed she had worked on properties in the Benedict Canyon area for years and was owed payment.

“I have Business and projects with the owners,” Ortiz wrote in a text message. “I did work for them with projects over 10 years.”

She also accused neighbors of stealing property and interfering with her work.

The unusual case took another twist when Ortiz was reportedly evicted from a rental unit on Glendon Avenue — a property she had also filed enormous liens against.

Authorities ultimately arrested her last week after the growing controversy drew wider scrutiny.

Deputy District Attorney Shiho June Miyagishima is prosecuting the case.

Court records currently do not list an attorney representing Ortiz, and it remains unclear how she plans to respond to the charges.

An arraignment hearing had been scheduled for Monday, though court records do not yet show that she has entered a plea.

If convicted, Ortiz could face significant prison time for the alleged scheme.