It’s nice work if you can get it.
39-year-old William Francis managed money for more than four dozen HOA clients. He also managed to steal enough to finance the kind of life many men like him would love to have. Limousines, hookers, porn, NBA tickets. He faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. Ah, but these judges rarely sentence a white collar criminal to more than 18 months behind bars. This man apparently spent a lot of his life behind bars, the kind where you find loose women and alcohol.
A life of luxury? People like this guy should get life in prison. Until we start treating embezzlement from HOAs like the crime it really is, the wave of corruption will continue. Nobody takes this crime seriously….except the victims.
(HOA manager admits a life of luxury after stealing all the money)
I won’t tell you whether I’m a big fan or a big critic of President Obama, but his speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner this weekend was amazing. It was funny, he has the most incredible speech writers and coaches in the world. But the best part of his speech was the final four minutes in which he talked about the risks and dangers of being a reporter.
Bam!
That one went straight to my heart. And I thought of all those people who take chances and write about the National HOA Scam.
Freedom is what it’s all about. The U.S. Constitution doesn’t define what a reporter is or what the Press is. Any lawyer in America will conclude that every single person who takes it upon himself or herself to fight a villain is a reporter, fully protected by the First Amendment. If you write an email you ARE the Press. If you personally contact your neighbors about the outrages, the embezzlement schemes, the harassment of homeowners you ARE the Press. Each and every one of you.
The First Amendment is what our country is all about. It’s also the single amendment that Homeowner Associations boards constantly try to trash.
Protect it.
Love it.
Die for it.
(President Obama’s speech at the Correspondents Dinner)
Never in a million years would I have seen this coming. But In Florida hundreds of people are marching against the HOA scam. Florida’s HOAs commit more crimes and have more criminals than the national prison population. But to actually see homeowners who have the guts to march is really heartening. I love these guys!
(Miami Herald story on anti-HOA march)
A new reader on this blog has asked me to post a link to his neighborhood’s struggle. I’m happy to do it, mostly since it demonstrates once again that Homeowners Associations are fascist dictatorships in which homeowners completely give up their property rights.
Stonegate Village Metropolitan District is in Douglas County, Colorado. The Metro District wants to take away the neighborhood activities center and turn it into offices for its own employees. It’s fascinating reading, but here’s a related and intriguing note:
An insider has told me that the HOA scam will someday be dwarfed by the Metropolitan District scam. He says once Coloradans find out how much of their money has been bled away by Metro Districts and how financially strapped Metro Districts are they’ll be stunned. Absolutely stunned. I’m just putting it out there.
(link to struggle over theft of activities center)
If you ever get bored of me telling you about embezzling by Homeowners Association board members, just let me know. But maybe each one of these stories will encourage some young couple to decide against HOA life.
Here’s another trio who not only stole tens of thousands of dollars, but stole two tractors owned by the Richland Township Homeowners Association.
Pennsylvania.
Even their mug shots look creepy.
(link to story in The Tribune Democrat)
