Is This a Financial Crime?

When the HOA spends thousands of dollars on something that is not only not approved by the Board, but which violates the CC&Rs, is a financial crime being committed?

The Summit's HOA may be (probably is) paying invoices from the law firm of Turner Padget for filing and prosecuting a lawsuit against Gus Philpott (me).   

The lawsuit was filed on December 30, 2024, and the first bills probably were received by the HOA in January.

There were three in-person hearings: February 11, March 20, and July 24. Motions, Responses, and Notices are not cheap to prepare and send.

The important part of all this is that
  • the CC&Rs prohibit this lawsuit;
  • the Board never approved the lawsuit;
  • the Board never authorized Danny Trapp, HOA President, to engage the attorneys to file it;
  • somebody is approving payments to Turner Padget;
  • the Treasurers (LaToya Adams, William Hill) oversee the funds of the HOA and are allowing disbursements;
  • the members of the Board are not objecting to the unauthorized lawsuit and the improper (illegal?) disbursement of HOA funds.
Are there financial crimes being committed?


Forward this blogpost to neighbors, family, friends by using the SHARE icon at the top-right and lower-left of this page.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 3rd BOD Meeting now Closed to Members

The HOA office sent out an email at 3:29PM that read, in part, Due to Brookland Baptist Church being unavailable to accommodate the scheduled Board of Directors meeting on June 3rd, the meeting will now be held at the Summit Association office. Please note that space is limited at this location; therefore, only Voting Members and Committee Chairs will be invited to attend in person. One would think they would splash a message on the homepage of the HOA's website and change the location in the Calendar on the website; but No to both.  This last-minute change is highly adverse to the interests of the Members of the Association. The HOA must have some deal with Brookland Baptist Church Northeast for the rental of the meeting room. The dates must be arranged for the year. The HOA makes a "donation" to the Church for the use of the room. It's actually not a "donation", because the HOA receives something of value in exchange; i.e., the use of the meeting room.  Wh...
Read more

What? No trampolines?

OK, you trampoline fans. Are your rights and privileges being tramped on by your Board of Directors? The office sent out an email just before 2:00PM threatening you with a dreaded violation notice and the possibility of fines, if you dare to put a trampoline in your yard.  This is what the email from the office said,  " Please be advised that, pursuant to Section 13, Page 22, Article XII of the covenants, no structure of a temporary nature shall be placed upon any unit or any part of the properties. This includes, but is not limited to, tents, temporary gazebos, shacks, trailers, and any other structure of a temporary nature.  "Kindly note that trampolines are classified as temporary play equipment and, as such, are not permitted within the community. We ask that you ensure there is no trampoline present on your property to avoid receiving a violation notice and subsequent fines." What do the Covenants say? "Section 13. Tents. Trailers and Temporary Structures. Exce...
Read more

What Story Do the Financials Tell?

At the May 6, 2025 Board of Directors meeting, the March Financial Operating Results were available. Did you pick up a copy? Was there any discussion of them? Usually there is not. Do board members examine them before the meeting? Does anyone on the Board really understand them?  Look at the page for the Operating Expenses - Variances. Twelve Line Items are shown. No totals are shown. Big mistake. But are the totals intentionally omitted? For these 12 Items the total of "YTD Variances" is $61,784.93. As of the end of March, the HOA has over-spent the 2025 Budget by $61,784.93. Look at the reason given for the over-spending in Line Item GL-5111 Irrigation Contract. "This is over budget and will remain over budget due to the 2025 budget is $75,000 and the monthly contracted cost is $10,140." Is this worded to intentionally confuse any reader by stating the annual amount in the budget, but the monthly amount for the contracted cost? If the yearly contract for Irrigat...
Read more