Nevada has some slimy creatures. But this one has finally been nailed by the U.S. Attorney. Las Vegas huckster Leon Benzer has at long last been indicted for leading the organized crime ring that bled untold tens of millions of dollars out of that state’s Homeowners Associations.
Benzer has claimed innocence all along. In fact, he’s now saying that he got personal approval for running his racket by the Nevada Attorney General. While that’s totally believable, the HOA scam was totally unbelievable. More than two dozen participants have already pleaded guilty to rigging HOA board elections so they could put phony straw men on the boards and divert millions of dollars to Benzer, a bunch of lawyers, a few police officials and a politician here and there.
Oh, and this is the case where forty percent of the first ten suspects accused ‘committed suicide,’ at least one of them in impossible circumstances. But that’s the Vegas way.
The real tragedy here is that the FBI may be winding down its investigation. But with all they’ve learned during this four year investigation, they could transplant this team of federal agents to any city in the country and they’d find just as much corruption. HOA scams are going on all over.
I’ve been predicting for a couple of years, now, that Homeowners Associations would eventually begin using drones to gather private information on members of the neighborhood. And they will.
The story linked below is about a Seattle man who used a camera-equipped drone to peer through a third story bedroom window of a neighbor. It’s beyond creepy. But it’s exactly what’s coming to a Homeowners Association near you.
If your HOA president hasn’t yet used a drone-carrying camera to spy on you, your lady friend, or your kids while they’re sitting in your private backyard hot tub, just wait.
One of the best and most powerful interviews I’ve heard by someone on the national HOA mess just aired on Shu Bartholomew’s internet radio show. Dr. Karin Huffer is from Colorado, but that’s not why I love her. In fact, I’ve never met her or spoken with her. But she is an articulate advocate for homeowners against HOA scams. If you haven’t heard her interview, it’s your loss.
Shu does a wonderful job interviewing anti-HOA experts. But Shu is a star for discovering Dr. Huffer’s work. Do yourself a favor and listen to Dr. Huffer. Nice to know that our movement is growing!
A bill that homeowners rights advocates say is one of the worst, most dangerous in the history of HOA law has just been approved by the California State Assembly by a 73 to 1 vote!
The bill, which is inevitably going to become law, has incredible implications for people living in smaller HOAs. It essentially wipes out the right of many California homeowners to vote on board officers, assessments, or changes in neighborhood covenants. Oh, they’ll get to vote. But the ballots won’t be secret. HOA elections won’t be overseen by any investigative office. Every vote will have to be cast in person. No longer do you have a say on your vacation home in the Golden State unless you fly there and personally cast your ballot. The vote totals can and will be manipulated at will by HOA board members because that’s what board members do when no one is looking.
What are these idiotic legislators thinking?
Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the tsunami of organized crime corruption that’s going to be sweeping into California! Good grief, the U.S. Attorney and the FBI in Nevada have been hauling in guilty pleas by the fistful in the massive HOA corruption scheme there. Why is California any different?
It isn’t.
And this law will make Homeowners Associations more vulnerable than Nevada HOAs have ever been.
This law is great for me, though. I’ll have lots more stories to write as the corruption erupts.
