Nearly five years after residents of San Mateo’s Woodlake condominium homeowners’ association were tipped off about an embezzlement scheme in which some $2.8 million was stolen, one of the two co-conspirators accused of the crime was convicted Friday of felony embezzlement and felony grand theft, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

After 11 days of trial and some five hours of deliberation, a jury found Michael Anthony Medeiros, 61, guilty of the two felony counts, for which he faces a sentence of eight years, eight months in state prison. He was immediately remanded into custody on no bail, according to prosecutors.  Read more:

His attorney in Tampa, John Fitzgibbons, said Boaziz is innocent and intends to fight the indictment. Boaziz could face a $1 million fine and as many as 30 years in prison.

The charges against Boaziz stem from his acquisition of an apartment complex in Tampa in the late 2000s to convert the property to a condominium.

The indictment indicates that Boaziz and others misled banks and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by failing to disclose financial incentives to induce purchases of condominium apartments at The Preserve on Sanctuary Cove Drive in Tampa.

Misleading the banks and HUD allowed Boaziz to obtain $15 million of mortgage financing, according to the indictment.  Read:

http://www.ccfj.net/condoDevIndicted.html

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – UPDATE: Burden lifted as homeowners are off the hook for their association’s negligence. The lawyer for Carl Thompson–who was a teen when he suffered brain damage after an HOA swing set crossbar crashed down on his head–said Thompson didn’t want any more victims. So they agreed not to come after homeowners for the money awarded in a February verdict. Instead, they’ll pursue the HOA’s insurance company for bad faith and its attorneys for malpractice. If that case is successful, homeowners could actually win money if the verdict is more than $20 million.

PREVIOUS STORY:

In a clubhouse guarded by security, Lamplight Village homeowners gather tonight, hoping for answers in the wake of a $20 million verdict against their HOA in Centennial Springs.

“People are really, really nervous. They’re scared. They don’t know if they’re going to lose their house, if it’s gonna be foreclosed, if they can sell,” said homeowner Dahl Hansen.

In late February, a jury handed down the verdict after a swing set crossbar in the Lamplight Village common area fell on a 15-year-old boy’s head, causing permanent brain damage.

Court records show the HOA did not have a maintenance and inspection plan on their playground equipment.  Read more:

Article Courtesy of Bay News 9 — Spectrum News
By Jason Lanning

Published May 1, 2018

ST.PETERSBURG, Fla. — Growing concerns about a number of St. Petersburg homes and the safety of families living there after firefighters have been called in to inspect a condominium building after cracks appeared.

• Cracks appear at Vantage Point Condominiums

• Unknown if evacuation will be ordered

The condo building at Vantage Point has not been officially evacuated yet, but building inspectors will not be out until later Monday to figure out exactly what is going.  However, they know something is going on after what is described as several large cracks spotted at not just the foundation of the condo building, but also an upstairs unit.

The St. Pete Fire Rescue responded over the weekend and taped off parts of the building where the cracking was discovered.

A maintenance man for one of the unit’s who discovered the cracks says there have been problems at the condos before, but nothing like this.

“I didn’t see this before. I know they have treated for termites and other stuff, but this is the first time I saw the foundation cracking this bad, really bad,” said Ricardo Davila. 
Davila told Spectrum Bay News 9 that he started noticing cracks in the foundation in the stairwell and once he got upstairs he spotted a large crack from one end of the building to the other with the porch not looking structurally sound at all.
 

The St. Pete Fire Rescue said Sunday night said one to two units may have to be evacuated on Monday depending on exactly what building inspectors find.   Read:

Taxation without representation! It had the early colonists so fired up, we went to war over it. Now some homeowners say it’s time once again to draw the battle lines, except this time the war will be fought in our own neighborhoods.

The problem, some homeowners say, is they’re paying thousands of dollars a year in dues to developers that don’t pay a dime or give them any say in how their communities are being managed.

In Georgia most developers craft the HOA covenants with the help of an attorney and continue to manage the HOA of the community until it’s finished being built. Covenants usually include a date when the community will be turned over to the homeowners to manage or a clause to transition it sooner if the development is built faster.

Most homeowners have no issue with that. The developer wants a thriving community so he can sell more homes.

But the intent of an HOA is to look out for the needs and home values of everyone. Homeowners in several subdivisions owned by the developer David Pearson, believe he’s only looking out for himself. According to the covenants written for Pearson, banks, investors and homeowners have to pay dues but he as the developer, does not. That part doesn’t make some homeowners happy, but it’s not unusual. What is unusual, is that depending on the community, Pearson has given himself 10 to 20 votes for every empty lot. Actual homeowners only get one vote. So Pearson, who doesn’t pay dues, just has to hold on to a few properties to control the outcome of any vote, even after all of the homes have been built and the community transferred on paper to local control. Read more:

“This is our religious belief,” said Edward Hartnett.

On Easter Sunday, Hartnett put two crosses that say “he is risen” on his front yard.

Hartnett’s plan is to keep them displayed for 40 days.  “He walked this earth for 40 days before he ascended into Heaven to his father, our father,” Hartnett said. 

But Hartnett’s homeowners association wants the crosses to be gone now.

In a letter to Hartnett, the Anderson Woods Community Association points out the crosses violate a deed restriction that states no signs except for ones that state for sale or rent.

The HOA letter asking Hartnett to remove the crosses was not due to complaints. It follows an inspection of

the community.

Hartnett says for five years he’s put up the crosses with nothing said.

But in 2013, he battled with the HOA over these crosses.

“We made our point clear in 2013 they backed off,” Hartnett said.

In an email to FOX 26 Douglas Palmer the HOA president points out the letter was to open up a dialogue with Hartnett. There are no fines, penalties or legal action at this point.

Palmer questions why Hartnett didn’t write to the board or attend Monday night’s HOA meeting.

Hartnett says he’s not going to respond to the HOA until he discusses it with his attorney.  Palmer says the board will review the infraction and says several years ago Hartnett was told the crosses with no writing were perfectly acceptable.  Read:

Georgia – Taxation without representation! It had the early colonists so fired up, we went to war over it. Now some homeowners say it’s time once again to draw the battle lines, except this time the war will be fought in our own neighborhoods.

The problem, some homeowners say, is they’re paying thousands of dollars a year in dues to developers that don’t pay a dime or give them any say in how their communities are being managed.

In Georgia most developers craft the HOA covenants with the help of an attorney and continue to manage the HOA of the community until it’s finished being built. Covenants usually include a date when the community will be turned over to the homeowners to manage or a clause to transition it sooner if the development is built faster.

Most homeowners have no issue with that. The developer wants a thriving community so he can sell more homes.

But the intent of an HOA is to look out for the needs and home values of everyone. Homeowners in several subdivisions owned by the developer David Pearson, believe he’s only looking out for himself.  Read more: