2013年7月28日 星期日

AEA/NCUA suing builder for $9M

Source: The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.迷你倉新蒲崗July 28--A Yuma builder believes he and his construction company have been targeted by NCUA in a lawsuit seeking more than $9 million in unpaid loans.The case has drug on for more than two years and damaged his business and family even though there has been "no evidence other than guilt by association," said Robert Schaffer, owner of Quality Development.His company was the general contractor on a number of projects funded through millions of dollars in fraudulent loans issued by William Liddle while he was head of the business lending department for AEA Federal Credit Union. Those projects included Yuma Fun Factory and Top of the Kress, developed by Frank Ruiz, and Reflections Townhomes and Tuscan Ranch, developed by Todd Burch.Originally filed by AEA in Yuma County Superior Court in June 2011, the lawsuit alleges that between October 2006 and August 2008, AEA loaned a total of $8.9 million to Cactus West and that "Schaffer entered into a personal guaranty by which he each personally, unconditionally, jointly and severally guaranteed payment to AEA of all indebtedness owed by Cactus West, including attorneys' fees and other expenses."With late fees and accruing interest, the amount now allegedly owed by Schaffer is in excess of $9 million.According to bankruptcy records filed by Burch, he was the 100 percent stockholder of Cactus West Developers LLC.Schaffer said he only co-signed one loan, which Burch paid off. Despite that, he said, AEA is now trying to hold him accountable for all of Burch's loans.Then in June 2012, AEA filed an amended complaint alleging that Schaffer was aware of and participated in the fraudulent scheme perpetrated by Liddle, Ruiz and other borrowers. Furthermore, as a result of the fraudulent scheme, Schaffer allegedly received funds exceeding the value of services and materials provided by his company, according to the complaint.Seeking resolution of the case, Schaffer's attorney, Kent Lang, filed a motion this year for summary judgment for dismissal of three of the counts in the amended complaint, saying that the claims "are all based on the same false and unsupported allegation, namely that defendants somehow assisted AEA's dishonest employee and others in misappropriating funds from AEA."Schaffer said he has been a general contractor for 20 years with "an outstanding reputation for quality work at a reasonable price. I have been approved as a builder by various banks in Yuma and never迷你倉出租have I encountered a criminal in banking until AEA."He continued: "I had no reason to believe that Bill Liddle and Frank Ruiz were stealing money for their own gain. I am being told that I should have known that this criminal activity was taking place during the construction of the various projects when the facts are, how is the contractor supposed to know what is going on with loans and funds when AEA and its loan officers, board members and CEO did not know what was going on? ... How is it the builder's job to know of criminal activity?"Because of the large losses in its business loan portfolio, AEA was placed into conservatorship in December 2010 by the National Credit Union Administration, where it still remains.As conservator, NCUA filed a motion this spring to intervene and be substituted as the plaintiff on behalf of AEA in the pending lawsuit against QD and Schaffer. With the Yuma County Superior Court's approval of that motion on July 3, the case was moved to the U.S. District Court.In its latest filings July 16, NCUA's counsel has asked the court to deny the defendants' motion for summary judgment and requested until November to conduct discovery.So far no hearing has been scheduled before the federal court.NCUA did not respond over several days to requests for comment on the lawsuit."We're asking the court to dismiss the case," Lang said of the lawsuit against his client. "NCUA and AEA have produced no admissible facts to support their claims against Robert Schaffer and Quality Development."Lang also noted that Schaffer had been interviewed by the FBI at length during its investigation into Liddle's activities. However, Schaffer was not called as a witness at Liddle's trial, nor was he charged in connection with the case.In 2012, William Liddle was convicted in U.S. District Court on 54 counts of bank fraud, conspiracy and money laundering for approving loans in exchange for bribes of one kind or another. He currently is serving a 15-year prison term.Co-defendant Frank Ruiz reached a plea agreement and is serving a two-year term.Meanwhile, Schaffer said, "This civil lawsuit has taken a major emotional toll on me, my wife and family. It is a sad affair when you have to spend money to defend your innocence for false accusations."Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Sun (Yuma, Ariz.) Visit The Sun (Yuma, Ariz.) at www.yumasun.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存倉

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