|
Article
and Video Courtesy of Channel 13 NEWS
By
Kelli Cook, Reporter
Published
February 16, 2011
|
 Watch
VIDEO
|
ORLANDO
-- A group of MetroWest homeowners
claim millions of dollars are missing and were misused. The
homeowners said the former head of their association was using the extra
money to fund personal projects.
|
Mary
Biddle has lived in MetroWest since 1989.
"I
was one of the original residents," Biddle said.
She
hasn't had a real complaint, until three years ago when
she got a notice about her homeowner association's
assessment fees
"So
when I got my dues bill in late '05, '06. Kelli, I was
stunned that we had a 30 percent increase in dues,
couldn't believe it and I started asking questions,"
Biddle said.
She,
along with several other residents, went straight to the
property developer and then head of the MetroWest Masters
Association Kevin Azzouz. |
|
|
The
group sued to get a look at his financial records, and what they found was
shocking.
"Mr.
Azzouz, who had a commercial development, was taking the money from the
homeowners fund and using it for his commercial development to the tune of
$2.5 million," said Phil Snyderburn, the homeowners’ attorney.
|
Snyderburn
contends in the 45-page lawsuit that it cost just over
$700,000 for the yearly upkeep of the homeowners' common
areas.
However,
Azzouz was taking in around $2.5 million.
An
audit showed the extra cash was funding Azzouz's new and
financially troubled project at Veranda Park.
"Our
whole contention is we want our money back,"
Snyderburn said.
The
lawsuit claims "The breach was done in an
intentional, reckless, malicious and willful manner."
They're
seeking $5 million from Azzouz and Carl |
|
|
Shakarian,
the new head of the MetroWest Masters Association, for inappropriately
clearing Azzouz of any financial liabilities.
"All
this trouble, all this mismanagement of the association has dramatically
hurt property values," Biddle said.
|
The
lawsuit is asking for an additional $5 million to cover
those lost property values.
News
13 attempted to contact Azzouz and Shakarian to comment on
this story, but our phone calls were not returned.
Those who live in the high-profile troubled neighborhood
are just hoping to get all of this behind them soon.
"We
need to clean it up and once we do, I think you're going
to see a resurgence of the great name of MetroWest,”
Biddle said.
|
|
|
This
isn't the first time Azzouz has been in the news.
He
filed for foreclosure protection in his Veranda Park town center in
MetroWest.
Eight
contractors filed for more than $11 million in liens on the same property
back in 2008.
The
property developer also made headlines for installing fake cameras in
MetroWest in order to deter crime.
|
