We did a blog here a month or two ago about the president/treasurer of a Fort Lauderdale HOA. Seems the neighbors are irked that this guy has written tens of thousands of of dollars worth of ‘salary’ checks to himself. Then he got pretty cocky and used money from the neighborhood budget to buy himself a new car.
Well, police have finally seen fit to arrest the guy on a second class misdemeanor. A couple of observations, here. The most this guy can get is a 30 day jail term and six months probation. That’s not bad work at all, if you can find it.
Second observation. The story was broken by a TV reporter. That means (to me, anyway) that the news media are starting to discover a lucrative source of stories and on-camera confrontations among corrupt Homeowners Associations. We’ve got to remember the pioneer in this kind of TV journalism, Nevada’s Darcy Spears of the HOA Hall of Shame report.
(link to Florida arrest story)
It’s shameful that there is almost no accountability in Florida for this level of Board misconduct, Ward. “Operating a community association without a license.” Well, if that’s the charge, then that means the money he paid himself was stolen, doesn’t it? Why are there no charges filed for theft? Or for using Co-Op funds to buy himself a car?
We hear over and over again from HOA proponents about how unfair it is when owners who pay their assessments have to pick up the slack for those that cannot or will not pay them.
Well, how fair is it that owners have been paying this rogue Board member as self-appointed manager, to support his personal lifestyle? Shouldn’t Edward Ryan have to pay with a lien and foreclosure on his home?
Another case of HOA laws with no teeth.
You are so right, Deborah!
The HOAs want to beat a homeowner to death over $1,200 in late dues. Fine, lien, charge interest of 18%, and foreclose on them. But when a board member is ripping off the community it’s hardly even noticed.
It’s called a double set of standards, I do believe.