Millions of dollars in fines for unpermitted renovations, unexplained loans against the property and a mystery investor who may or may not be a real person.

The code-enforcement trial of Bessmon “Ben” Kalasho that ended Wednesday also included this unusual feature: the former El Cajon City Council member represented himself in court — but only after securing a stay for a bench warrant issued for his arrest in 2023.

Kalasho, who was elected in 2016 and quit in midterm just over two years later, was sued in 2023 by the city he previously served, accused of making unpermitted improvements to his home on Cliffdale Road.

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He left San Diego County shortly after resigning in 2019 and eventually set up shop as an executive chef in a private castle for rent in rural North Carolina.

All the while, El Cajon code-enforcement officers demanded repairs and upgrades to what they said was an illegal attic dwelling and rental, including unpermitted stairs, decking, electrical and plumbing work throughout the four-story A-frame.

But the upgrades and inspections demanded by the city went unaddressed for years, and El Cajon officials began issuing fines.

The penalties began at $100 a day but were successively raised to thousands of dollars a day as Kalasho failed to respond, the city said. They now exceed $2.5 million, more than twice the value of the home.

Kalasho insists he never received the many notices mailed to the Fletcher Hills home or posted on the front door. He said he is being singled out for persecution due to an uncivil relationship with his former council colleagues.

“This is all political,” Kalasho said in his closing statement to the court. “They keep coming at me with different things. It will never end. They’re going to be coming after me for years.”

Lawyers representing the city said Kalasho ignored and avoided the code-enforcement demands for years, placed his property into a trust controlled by a fictitious person and shielded it through at least two other companies.

They said Kalasho and his wife Jessica rented out the property — and still do — despite conditions that present a serious public-safety hazard.

“Mr. and Mrs. Kalasho are benefiting from the tenancy,” said Steven Boehmer, one of the lawyers representing El Cajon in the three-day trial. “They are putting people potentially at risk. We have no idea of the quality of work that’s been done.”

The city wants the fines paid in full and the property placed into receivership so it can be inspected and repaired as needed. Officials also want Kalasho to pay their attorney fees, investigative costs and other expenses.

Kalasho had a contentious two-plus years on the City Council. He clashed regularly with the council majority and was criticized for tending to his cell phone during public meetings.

More than once he openly bickered with other elected officials. The council also had to revote on several matters that Kalasho voted on due to his accepting payments from companies with business interests before the city.

This week, in a case that even Judge Joel Wohlfeil said was atypical, lawyers for El Cajon said Kalasho deeded part of the home to a trust controlled by Maximilian Von Ayers — a person they said did not exist and is actually Kalasho.

They called a former tenant to testify, among other things, that he previously had spoken to Von Ayers over the phone and the voice on the other end of the line sounded just like Kalasho did in court.

Kalasho, meanwhile, exercised his constitutional right against self-incrimination by refusing to say even that he knew or had ever spoken to Von Ayers. He also declined to answer questions about Israel Moses Seiff LLC and Navy Federal Credit Union, which own part of the house.

“I am going to invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege,” he testified.

Kalasho and his wife have been sued before.

In an unrelated 2017 civil case alleging fraud, defamation and other claims, they were accused of rigging a beauty pageant sponsored by Kalasho through his for-profit chamber of commerce, creating fake social media accounts to criticize rivals and pasting faces of others onto photos of nude women before posting those online.

One of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, who won a $300,000 judgment but has been unable to collect, accused Kalasho of hiding his assets by filing false records with the county assessor. Another secured bench warrants for the Kalashos’ arrest after showing they were in San Diego despite their claim they could not attend court in person.

Ben and Jessica Kalasho in 2023 were sentenced to eight days in jail for contempt of court, but both the warrants and jail terms were stayed during this week’s code-enforcement trial so they could defend themselves in court.

The trial, begun Monday, was held without the benefit of a jury, meaning Wohlfeil will determine how to resolve it.

The judge directed each side to submit a final brief next month and said he would issue a ruling soon after reviewing them. He also indicated he was likely to order the home brought into compliance and to reduce the penalties assessed.

“You may have been a lightning rod at city hall, no question,” Wohlfeil told Kalasho at the end of the trial. “But there does appear to be substantial evidence of violations.”