Article Courtesy of CBS
Miami
By
CBS Team
Published December 3, 2022
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MIAMI - The court-appointed receiver assigned to handle the Hammocks Association
in West Kendall's alleged corruption disclosed his findings after two weeks of
work.
Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko was in shock after learning
during a court hearing Tuesday, that financial documents
were found hidden in the floor at the Hammocks HOA office.
"What?" yelled judge Butcho when receiver David Gersten,
assigned by the court to take over the Hammocks community,
told her that they found out about more documents hidden in
other parts of the property.
"This was not a surprise for me because I have gone through
the documents," said Ana Danton to CBS4's Ivan Taylor about
the findings.
Danton is the homeowner who filed the civil lawsuit against
Hammocks Association asking for a receiver to take control
after hikes of 300 to 400% for maintenance fees.
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"There is space between the floor and the lower level and there used to be a
small storage. They wanted to make sure nobody would find anything."
Tuesday's hearing was held so the new receiver could update the judge on changes
made since taking control.
Over 200 homeowners watched it via zoom. They learned what the receiver and his
committee has accomplished in a period of two weeks, including the Thanksgiving
holiday.
"He got rid of the entire office (staff hired by the association), we got rid of
all the abusive security, we got rid of the disrespectful pool attendants," said
Michael Kaufman, the attorney hired by Danton and other homeowners through the
civil lawsuit.
"We discovered that the association requested $1.5 million loan from Popular
Bank, which is stunning. No non-profit should be asking to borrow money to cover
operating expenses."
According to Danton, the investigation will uncover what the funds were used for
- and what happened to the money collected from the overwhelming increase in
monthly maintenance.
That increase, she said, led to over 20 homeowners losing their homes to
foreclosure.
This is the next phase Judge Butchko wants the receiver to investigate,
especially any foreclosures starting in 2017.
The next hearing about new findings is scheduled for January of 2023.
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