By Jorge Casuso

March 7, 2019 -- Three defendants were convicted Tuesday of violating Santa Monica's homesharing ordinance, marking the third such court victory for the City in the past three weeks, resulting in a total of 29 rental units being returned to the market.

The defendants -- Globe Homes, Ari Can Eryorulmaz and Sebastian Pieter Dekleer -- were prosecuted under the City's 2015 homesharing ordinance, which bans leasing residential property for fewer than 31 days unless the owner is present.

They were fined and placed on three years of probation or probationary diversion, according to the City Attorneys office.

Globe Homes must pay the City more than $10,000 in criminal fines with statutory penalties and assessments, while all three defendants must pay $1,025.20 for investigative costs incurred by the City.

The conviction came one week after the City won a similar case on February 26 against Ryan Anderson, who was convicted of operating an illegal short-term rental business and failing to comply with City citations, officials said.

Anderson also was placed on three years of probation and ordered to pay $10,000 in administrative citation penalties.

Both convictions came after the Appellate Division of the Superior Court on February 19 dismissed the appeal of Diana Hayek, confirming her conviction on eleven counts of short-term rental violations.

"These three cases have much in common," City officials wrote in a press release issued Thursday.

Each of the Defendants "unlawfully removed numerous residential housing units from the permanent housing market," officials said.

"The convictions and appellate win in these cases will result in the return of these residential housing units back to the permanent housing market."

The three Defendants, said Chief Deputy City Attorney Yibin Shen, must comply with all laws, including the local ordinance, which prohibits hosting, facilitating, aiding, or advertising a vacation rental in the City.

“These convictions and the appellate win represent just outcomes," said Shen.

They "further affirm" the City's goals of "producing, protecting, and preserving housing."