Why did Google engineer Michael Frumkin pay $7.75 million for an oceanside house in Santa Cruz? It was ideal, he says, for boogie boarding. Frumkin is contesting his tax bill for 240 Geoffroy Drive, claiming the property is only worth $3.5 million. When he purchased it from venture capitalist Gerard Casilli in 2006, he paid $4 million for the house and $3.75 million in "option money" — essentially paying Casilli for the right to buy the house in the first place. Frumkin essentially overpaid for the place to entice Casilli to sell. Boil it down, and you have a classic tale of a VC screwing an engineer. Nice house, though. (Photo by Shmuel Thaler/Santa Cruz Sentinel)