Hawaii Real Estate Broker Accused of Getting Intimate With Assistant Inside Client Homes

A Hawaii real estate broker once known as a major player in the market is now in legal trouble after his former assistant made a bombshell claim, alleging a years-long sexual affair took place inside client homes he was hired to sell.

Honolulu Civil Beat reported on Wednesday, July 1, that Stephen Cipres, founder of Corcoran Pacific Properties, allegedly had sex with his assistant, Sarah Dombrose, at 10 to 20 client properties over four years, according to court documents related to ongoing lawsuits. (Dombrose’s estranged husband, Matthew Gillespie, sued Cipres, alleging that he damaged his marriage, and Cipres sued Dombrose for defamation. Dombrose has filed for divorce from Gillespie.)

In his deposition testimony, Cipres said Dombrose was paid significant sums over the years for assisting him, including checks for $34,000, $50,000 and other large amounts, the outlet reported.

Dombrose, however, described the sexual relationship, which she says began not long after she started, as humiliating. Cipres, she added, would occasionally have her lie on a towel inside clients’ homes, but he never took her to a hotel or one of his houses.

“It felt like a chore,” she said, according to Civil Beat. “I felt really, like, a sex worker.”

Dombrose testified she felt “obligated to perform oral sex on him to keep my employment,” saying in an affidavit, “I did not want to perform oral sex and only did so because I believed refusing would cost me my job and income.”

“Because of my precarious financial situation, I felt that I had little choice but to continue engaging in sexual relations with Cipres, which often occurred multiple times each week during normal business hours, frequently at listed properties before or after open house events or in one of our parked cars,” Dombrose mentioned in the affidavit, as per the outlet.

Cipres acknowledges that the relationship took place but disputes any suggestion of coercion, claiming in his defamation complaint, per the outlet, that he “never pressured, compelled, or coerced Dombrose into either starting or maintaining their relationship. In fact, Dombrose initiated their first intimate encounter.”

Corcoran Pacific has since cut ties with Cipres, who admitted to some allegations in a deposition, according to principal agent Paul Roy.

“The minute I found out about it, I told Stephen that he either needed to resign or I would terminate him,” Roy told Civil Beat.

“I feel bad for our brand. I feel bad for our agents. I mostly feel bad for our clients who expected professionals to act in a professional manner.”

Cipres is now working as a broker through his own firm, Elite Pacific Properties.