Category Archives: Fraud

Comcast Starts Billing Spokane, Washington Customer as “Asshole Brown”

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Homeowners are beleaguered enough with abusive HOA boards and managers.  Many of these HOAs require homeowners to only use the approved cable company to get cable TV and Internet services.

But telephone and TV providers have unparalleled records, themselves, when dealing with people trying to get changes in their service. I experienced the near impossibility of getting a change in my Century Link and Verizon phone service in Colorado last fall so I knows it goes on.

The story from Spokane, Washington linked below is beyond belief. When Ricardo Brown and his wife insisted in cancelling his cable, Comcast began sending bills to his home addressed to “Asshole Brown.”

Incredible!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/29/comcast-asshole-brown_n_6568238.html

 

Lawsuits, Drama, and political controversy surrounding Palm Beach, FL condominium association

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Here’s a condo story in Florida that might some day make the basis for a great TV movie script. It’s so bizarre. I can’t make this stuff up.

It involves Whitehall Condominium of the Villages, West Palm Beach, Florida.

First, I watched the WPBF news report of condo-owners breaking and entering the condo office to seize records, checks, and computer hard drives. It just so happens one of the homeowners involved was Katherine Waldron, a candidate for Palm Beach Commission.

Predictably, dirty politics is using this information to campaign against Waldron, and in favor of her competitor.

Waldron explains that in October 2014, FL Division of Professional and Business Regulation (DBPR) had authorized the removal of Condo President Vincent Rossi, and therefore the owners were justified in taking control of the Board and securing their assets and records.

Another video report from WPTV sheds additional light on the story. After a recent audit, owner Cary Collins and others became concerned about discrepancies in the financial records. There seemed to be money missing! Enter Vincent Rossi, former condo Board President. He admits to WPTV that he withdrew money from Association accounts to gamble in various casinos, but claims it was “his” money after all. Something to do with Rossi guaranteeing a past due water utility bill, he claims.

Whitehall owners have filed many other complaints with DBPR officials. But when the state fined the Association $5000, Whitehall Condo Association, led by Rossi, fought back unsuccessfully, at a cost of $130,000 to condo owners. Oh, and by the way, although he is no longer on the Board, Rossi is currently employed as the maintenance manager at Whitehall to the tune of $52,000 annually.

The owners have sued the Whitehall Condo Association and Mr. Rossi. The Association is now suing the owners for damages related to the break in.  WPTV reports an ongoing police investigation, which could result in criminal charges. Your tax dollars at work, Floridians, even if you are fortunate enough not to live in Whitehall or any other condo or HOA in the state.

It’s too early to tell how this battle will turn out, and we may never know the whole story if there is yet another round of out-of-court settlements with gag orders.

References:

(video of Palm Beach Commission candidate breaking into condo office)

(link to article about Palm Beach Commission race, Whitehall Condo)

(link to video interviews with upset condo owner, former condo president accused of wrongdoing)

(links to public record of court cases filed:)

(link to another court case)

Owner wants to know how to get rid of HOA

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

An owner in Parkview HOA in Brownsville, TX was recently interviewed by KRGV television. He explains that several years ago their HOA “fizzled out” but then a new management company suddenly appeared on the scene, looking to collect assessments. But the HOA has a $46,000 deficit, and many owners are not paying their dues or paying attention to the HOA, despite collection letters tacking on a $250 attorney fee for delinquent account owners.

So what’s the story here? That’s a bit of a mystery. A quick Google search turns up minimal information on Parkview Homeowners Association LLC – address, phone number, and management agent. Attorney Bill Davis was consulted by KGRV, and, according to him, the first step is to locate the original HOA governing documents, and determine whether the HOA currently attempting to collect assessments is the Original HOA vs. a newly formed corporation masquerading as the once-defunct HOA. Got that?

The story leaves out many details, and calls to mind several questions. Was there a vote of owners to revive this inactive HOA? How long was it inactive? Were assessments being collected before the new management company started sending invoices? How many homes are involved, and what are the dues?

There are specific legal processes for dissolution, as well as reviving inactive HOAs, depending on state law. Looks like the homeowner, Mr. Jack Jew, will have to consult an attorney, and get together with his neighbors to see if they can rid themselves of the HOA that he claims most owners do NOT want.

Ironically, as demonstrated in Florida, a group of Bulk Buyers (investors) can quickly gain control of a Board, and then vote to dissolve the Association.  But ordinary owners of one measly home apiece have to play detective and jump through numerous legal hoops just to get rid of the HOA albatross, if possible.

Does that seem fair to you?

(link to story in Brownsville, TX)

Voting Rights are a hot button issue in US elections – except in HOAs

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

I follow think tanks from both ends of the spectrum, so I can learn how people see important issues from different perspectives. A few days ago, a Cato article on a proposed Voting Rights Amendment came up in my news feed. (See link below)

But while Americans debate the pros and cons of issuing Voter IDs – do they prevent voter fraud, or do they disenfranchise minority voters? – Nobody wants to talk about universal voting rights for residents of HOAs.

Why not?

That’s nearly 65 million voters, many of them disenfranchised by corporate voting systems that allocate votes per “unit” or “share” owned, Representative Voting Councils, heavy use of proxy ballots, and many unmonitored election processes. Let’s face it. In many HOAs, voting is rigged – in ways that are sometimes technically legal.

Under the current voting system in place in HOAs:

·      Investors can simply “bulk buy” control of the Board,

·      Developers can hang onto control of their affiliate-appointed Board for years or even decades due to various legal loopholes,

·      Board members can intimidate owners into giving up their proxy votes,

·      Ballot boxes can be stuffed, mail ballots “lost” or otherwise mishandled

·      Owners who are delinquent on their accounts for any reason (even fabricated) cannot vote,

·      A handful of Voting Members can legally vote on behalf of hundreds or thousands of owners without any input, and

·      Tenants are almost always not allowed to vote even though they have to follow all of the same rules and create equity for their landlord-owners.

As a result of such shenanigans, millions of Americans are subject to the whims of their often-unaccountable HOA Boards. Collectively, HOA residents stand to lose millions of dollars in wasted or misappropriated assessments, their rights guaranteed under the Constitution, and, in too many cases, even their homes.

http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/voting-rights-amendment-unnecessary-measure-meet-exaggerated-needs?utm_content=buffer7abd8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Why Do HOAs Hate Renters?

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guest blog by Dave Russell
Most HOAs have long shunned those who rent properties within Homeowners Associations. I’ve heard every disparaging comment ever made, “renters are trashy, uncaring, and simply make for bad neighbors.”  Well I’m here to dispel those myths and misconceptions about renters.
 
Most renters are actually decent, hard working folks, who pay their bills, and follow the HOA rules more often than homeowners do. Let’s take a look at one of the renters in my own homeowners association. Stacey Barker, single mother of three, saw a Facebook post from co-worker, Romona, who she didn’t really know all that well.  Ramona posted a plea on Facebook for prayers, or for someone who would be willing to donate a kidney to save her dying husbands life.
 
Less than ten minutes after Ramona’s desperate Facebook post was published online, Stacey Barker – a woman Ramona hardly knew – replied. “I sent her two messages,” said Barker. “The first time I don’t think she took me seriously, and the second time I said, ‘No really, I will get tested and if I’m a match I will donate.” Stacy did get tested and was a perfect match! Such an uncaring renter, isn’t she?’
 
Stacy, the renter, took two months of unpaid leave from work and donated her kidney to a man she didn’t even really know. Aren’t these renters something else! Ramona’s husbands life was saved thanks to Stacy Barker. Pay close attention all of you HOA board members! Not every renter is a ‘bad neighbor.’