Article
and Video Courtesy of Channel 20 ABC
By Alex
De Armas
Published
April 29, 2013
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VIDEO
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GAINESVILLE- The scandal involving
homeowners' associations being ripped off is growing.
Today we learned at least four more
associations are involved in the Sun Lu Properties investigation.
Yesterday we told you that Sun
Lu was being investigated for allegedly stealing tens of
thousands of dollars from two or three associations.
TV20s Alex de Armas reports
the investigation includes many more associations... and a
lot more money.
We could be talking about
over a hundred thousand dollars lost or misused.
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I spoke to one homeowners association board
member who says other associations may have been victimized and don't even
know it.
"I had received a phone call from
another board member that had gotten wind that possible money had been
stolen out of our account," said Pat Burns, Treasurer of Hampton
Ridge Homeowners Association. "And sure enough I called the bank and
our money market account was overdrawn by three thousand dollars."
Their money market account
was rarely touched.
"So right then and
there I knew something was terribly wrong," said
Burns.
Sun Lu Properties is the
property manager for Hampton Ridge, and several other
homeowner associations.
Burns
says Sally Wilson, an employee of Sun Lu, is the only one
allowed to write checks from the association's accounts. |
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"This person had check writing abilities and sole check writing abilities so she had total control of all of
our monies," said Burns.
The board members reported it to the
Alachua County Sheriff's Office, where a detective is hearing the same
story from four or five other associations.
"During the course of the
investigation, they'll work on financial records from not only the company
but of her personally and the neighborhood association," said Art
Forgey, spokesperson for ASO. "They'll have a large quantity of
financial documents to look at and try to determine where it went to or if
it was wrongly used."
"She was able to secure somewhere
probably under 20 thousand dollars," said Burns, "and we are one
of the smaller ones."
Burns says she knows of one association
that lost 40 thousand dollars and another that lost 70 thousand.
In one case, embezzlement charges have
already been taken to the State Attorney's Office.
We tried reaching out to Sally Wilson at
Sun Lu, but got no answer.
We also tried calling the company, and
again no response.
"I just want an arrest," said
Burns. "She's still able to do things. She's still able to take more
money that people having stopped her from. I'd like to see her behind
bars."
Burns worries that there are still several
homeowners associations, that Sally Wilson manages, that aren't even aware
of the investigation.
The detective working the investigation
says there are about 12 properties in trouble.
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