Disciplinary Actions – February 2013-V43-3

TONY J. ALEXANDER (Charlotte) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the broker license of Mr. Alexander effective February 1, 2013. The Commission found that Mr. Alexander, as qualifying broker and broker-in-charge of a real estate brokerage firm, failed to maintain the firm’s trust account records in compliance with Commission rules, failed to perform reconciliations and had a negative bank balance in the firm’s trust account. The Commission also found that Mr. Alexander failed to remit owner proceeds and tenant security deposits, sent multiple NSF checks to parties, and allowed unlicensed individuals to perform property management without supervision.

DENNIS L. BEAN (Camden) – The Commission accepted the voluntary surrender of the broker license of Mr. Bean for a period of one year effective January 10, 2013. The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that Mr. Bean violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. Mr. Bean neither admitted nor denied misconduct.

JEFFREY M. BUCHANAN (Charlotte) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the broker license of Mr. Buchanan effective January 10, 2013. The Commission found that Mr. Buchanan, acting as qualifying broker and broker-in-charge of a real estate brokerage firm, engaged in property management and failed to make timely accountings or forward rental proceeds to their landlord client. The Commission also found that Mr. Buchanan, after the landlord client terminated his property management agreement, failed to return tenant security deposits or forward the funds to the new property management company, issued rental proceeds checks to clients from an account not designated as trust or escrow, and refused to produce trust account and transaction records upon the request of a Commission representative.

LILLIE F. BYRD (Clinton) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Ms. Byrd for a period of six months effective December 1, 2012. One month of the suspension was active, ending December 31, 2012. The Commission found that Ms. Byrd owns a residential property which she advertised for rent; that a potential tenant, an African-American woman, inquired about renting the property for a short time and was informed that the property was already rented and unavailable; that immediately thereafter an individual of Caucasian race inquired about the status of the property, and Ms. Byrd advised the individual that it was available for rent and arranged to show the individual the home. The Commission also found that the African-American woman believed that she was discriminated against because of race, that Ms. Byrd contended that her decision to deny the rental to the African-American woman was due to the undesirable, short term of the requested tenancy, and that Ms. Byrd and the African-American woman reached a conciliatory agreement through the North Carolina Human Relations Commission, without either party admitting any wrongdoing.

CAROLINA COUNTRY REALTY, INC. (Fairview) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the firm license of Carolina Country effective November 14, 2012. The Commission found that Carolina Country’s trust accounts were in substantial noncompliance with Commission rules and that client funds from the trust accounts were misappropriated for the personal benefit of a principal of the firm.

ROBIN M. CRABEL (Littleton) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the broker license of Ms. Crabel effective January 1, 2013. The Commission found that Ms. Crabel, acting as broker-in-charge of a real estate brokerage firm, used trust monies for personal expenses and collected insurance premiums from vacation tenants without actually purchasing the insurance as represented.

CROWN REALTY GROUP, LLC (Charlotte) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the firm license of Crown Realty Group effective January 10, 2013. The Commission found that Crown Realty Group, a real estate brokerage firm engaged in property management, failed to make timely accountings or forward rental proceeds to its landlord client. The Commission also found that Crown Realty Group, after the landlord client terminated their property management agreement, failed to return tenant security deposits or forward the funds to the new property management company, issued rental proceeds checks to clients from an account not designated as trust or escrow, and refused to produce trust account and transaction records upon the request of a Commission representative.

GREENPOINT REALTY, LLC (Charlotte) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the firm license of Greenpoint Realty effective February 1, 2013. The Commission found that Greenpoint Realty failed to maintain the firm’s trust account records in compliance with Commission rules, failed to perform reconciliation and had a negative bank balance in the firm’s trust account. The Commission also found that Greenpoint Realty failed to remit owner proceeds and tenant security deposits, sent multiple NSF checks to parties, and allowed unlicensed individuals to perform property management without supervision.

SANDI MICHELLE KEHOE (Jacksonville) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the broker license of Ms. Kehoe effective December 12, 2012. The Commission found that Ms. Kehoe, while representing various clients as a listing agent, forged the signatures on at least two listing agreement extensions without the knowledge or consent of her seller-clients and continued to market the properties following the actual expiration of the listings. The Commission noted that no monetary damage was caused by Ms. Kehoe’s conduct.

JO ANNE RILEY LOMBARDO (Greensboro) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Ms. Lombardo for a period of nine months effective December 1, 2012. Three months of the suspension were active with the remainder stayed for a probationary period of six months. The Commission found that Ms. Lombardo, acting as listing agent for the sale of a condominium unit, failed to discover and disclose that the North Carolina Department of Transportation planned to build a freeway within several feet of the property with no plans for a buffer wall and that the property would lose trees and overflow parking to the freeway project. The Commission also found that the buyer, after closing, learned that the property would soon be affected by the construction of the six-lane “Urban Loop” Freeway.

DONALD MORROW (Kure Beach) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Mr. Morrow for a period of one year effective August 1, 2012. The Commission found that Mr. Morrow engaged in real estate investment with an unlicensed individual through entering into contracts for the sale of property with no earnest money deposits, then assigning the contracts to purchasers for a fee. The Commission also found that Mr. Morrow identified his unlicensed LLC as listing agent on a contract even though he had never entered into a listing agreement with the seller and listed himself as selling agent on another form although he had no buyer agency agreement with the buyer. The Commission finally found Mr. Morrow is not a licensed attorney but prepared legal filings for sellers including letters of administration and a surety bond.

ON LAKE GASTON ASSOCIATES, INC. (Littleton) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the firm license of On Lake Gaston Associates effective February 1, 2013. The Commission found that the broker-in-charge of On Lake Gaston Associates used trust monies for personal expenses and collected insurance premiums from vacation tenants without actually purchasing the insurance as represented.

JOHN DUNCAN POWERS, JR. (Fayetteville) – The Commission accepted the voluntary surrender of the broker license of Mr. Powers for a period of two years  effective December 13, 2012.  The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that Mr. Powers violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. Mr. Powers neither admitted nor denied misconduct.

DONNA BEAVER PRICE (Fayetteville) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Ms. Price for a period of two months effective January 1, 2013. The Commission found that Ms. Price maintained trust accounts she assumed after purchasing another firm and that a Commission audit of the trust accounts revealed a shortage in the rental account, an overage in the security deposit account, and a failure by Ms. Price to reconcile monthly the bank statements to the ledger or journal of the rental account. The Commission also found that Ms. Price was managing rental properties without written agreements with the owners and was managing a homeowners’ association without a written agreement, instead using the authority to manage the properties and the homeowners’ association granted to the former firm that she acquired.

ALFRED SAMUELS (Huntersville) – By Consent, the Commission permanently revoked the broker license of Mr. Samuels effective December 12, 2012. The Commission found that Mr. Samuels, who was also licensed as a mortgage broker by the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks, participated in a series of transactions between 2005 and 2008 in which he acted as a promoter and mortgage broker in a scheme with a builder to sell houses by offering hidden kickbacks to buyers and promoters who recruited buyers. The Commission further found that Mr. Samuels, in February 2012, pled guilty to a Bill of Information in the United States District Court to conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

CAROL A. SCHAUBERT (Hickory) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Ms. Schaubert for a period of three years effective October 1, 2012. One month of the suspension was active with the remainder stayed for a probationary period ending October 31, 2017. The Commission found that Ms. Schaubert, when visiting a client at the client’s home, removed medication prescribed for the client by the client’s doctor and consumed some of the medication. The Commission also found that Ms. Schaubert was charged in district court with and pled guilty to one count of misdemeanor larceny; that Ms. Schaubert was ordered to complete 16 hours of drug and alcohol education courses of the NC Substance Abuse Services; and that Ms. Schaubert received a deferred prosecution with the criminal charges to be dismissed with the completion of the required terms.

SUSAN D. SEAY (Kitty Hawk) – The Commission accepted the voluntary surrender of the broker license of Ms. Seay for a period of two years effective November 1, 2012. The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that Ms. Seay violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. Ms. Seay neither admitted nor denied misconduct.

STEPHEN M. SERVAIS (Fairview) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the broker license of Mr. Servais effective November 14, 2012. The Commission found that Mr. Servais’s trust accounts were in substantial noncompliance with Commission rules and that Mr. Servais paid various personal expenses and otherwise misappropriated trust funds for his personal benefit.

SHANTA SETTY (Clemmons) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Ms. Setty for a period of three months effective January 1, 2013. The Commission then stayed the suspension upon certain conditions. The Commission found that Ms. Setty listed and sold lots in a subdivision and failed to provide purchasers with the subdivision street disclosure statement required by law, which would have disclosed that the streets had not been accepted to be maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The Commission noted that a Home Owners Association of the subdivision now has responsibility for the subdivision roads, but has applied to the NCDOT to dedicate the roads to the state and have the state maintain said roads.

ARTHUR SKILLMAN, III (Fayetteville) – The Commission suspended the broker license of Mr. Skillman for 24 months effective December 1, 2011. The Commission found that Mr. Skillman told a prospective buyer that Mr. Skillman would use the buyer’s money to acquire real property for the buyer, but did not use the money to acquire real property; that Mr. Skillman failed to account to the buyer for the money; that Mr. Skillman failed to account to the buyer in two real estate transactions for the money received from the buyer to purchase real property and failed to communicate with the buyer about the progress and outcomes of the transactions Mr. Skillman undertook in the buyer’s behalf; and that Mr. Skillman failed to make his trust account records available for inspection by the Commission and failed to respond to Commission correspondence.

SOUTHEASTERN PROPERTY MANGEMENT, INC. (Reidsville) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Southeastern Property Management effective September 1, 2012. The Commission found that the Southeastern Property Management engaged in deficit spending in the amount of $14,600 out of liabilities of $35,000. The Commission also found that the firm’d checks failed to consistently identify the purpose of the disbursements or reference to property/owner ledgers and in their journals. The Commission noted that Southeastern Property Management has refunded the accounts and has instituted procedures to bar deficit spending.

BENJAMIN JOHN VILOSKI (Oak Island) – The Commission permanently revoked the broker license of Mr. Viloski effective December 13, 2012. The Commission found that Mr. Viloski, who was also a licensed North Carolina attorney, was convicted in a U.S. District Court of New York of nine out of 20 criminal charges and was later sentenced and ordered committed to federal prison to serve 60 months of imprisonment per guilty count, to be served concurrently. The Commission also found that the North Carolina State Bar entered an Order of Disbarment against Mr. Viloski after Mr. Viloski admitted in writing to allegations made in a Civil Complaint against him by the North Carolina State Bar.

 

JACQUELINE W. WORSHAM (Greensboro) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Ms. Worsham effective November 14, 2012. The Commission found that Ms. Worsham, acting as broker-in-charge of a property management firm, failed to supervise agents and maintain trust accounts in compliance with Commission rules. The Commission also found that the firm, without Ms. Worsham’s knowledge, charged numerous clients inflated fees by altering or increasing the amount billed on maintenance invoices for work performed on client rental properties, and that the inflated or altered invoices were billed to clients without their knowledge or permission.

This article came from the Feburary 2013-Vol43-3 edition of the bulletin.