Discrimination? Cuyahoga County Appears to Target Little Guys While Ignoring Bigger Fish

[Lori Allen _]

Cuyahoga County officials, for some time, sold delinquent property taxes to tax lien companies, also known by many in the local online community as loan sharks or tax lien thieves. These tax lien companies then go after the property owner for delinquent taxes and tack on an average interest rate of 18 percent. How can an already struggling homeowner afford to pay back these alleged tax lien thieves if they now have an 18 percent interest rate? Typically, the alleged tax lien thieves foreclose on the property and kick the homeowner to the curb (literally). Typically, the tax lien thieves do not even do basic maintenance on the property after the foreclosure and the house sits and rots. Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Mary Louse Madigan (also known as Armond Budish's both right and left-hand lady) recently stated that the county is not, at the moment, selling delinquent property taxes to these alleged thieves anymore. However, she further stated that the county may continue resuming the practice in the future. Then again, I believe anything Mary Louise says should be taken with the most microscopic grain of salt.

Anyway, this thread will focus on the fact that Cuyahoga County officials and the alleged “tax lien thieves” appear to be targeting what I call the “little guys” in Lakewood (for example, the terminally ill, poor, elderly, and ethnic minorities) over measly amounts of delinquent property taxes, usually between $500 and $5,000. Meanwhile, there are other businesses, apartment buildings, and possibly politically-connected property owners that are evidently being given free rides on their delinquent property taxes, despite some of them owing almost $100,000 in back taxes.

Please see the downloads below in order and read them in their entirety. It is crucial that you read these in order to understand the whole picture. They show the stark differences in amounts owed by the "little guys" and the alleged "big fishes" in Lakewood. The downloads are are not as long as they appear.

Little Guys.pdf

(765.17 KiB) Downloaded 268 times

People Not Paying.pdf

(508.76 KiB) Downloaded 224 times

It is my opinion that the alleged tax lien thieves are referred to as such for a few reasons:

1. The seemingly-inflated 18 percent interest rate.
2. The fact that homes are usually left to rot after the foreclosure.

It is also worth noting that these alleged tax lien thieves apparently operate under numerous different names, probably in an attempt to hide themselves and avoid being accountable for basic property maintenance after the foreclosure. Some of the names I have stumbled across are Woods Cove LLC (most common) and Lakeside Reo Ventures. However, there are many more. Another interesting note is that these tax lien companies appear to offer no actual mailing address or address of operation. Rather, they typically use P.O. Boxes and boxes at the UPS Store, probably in another attempt to disguise themselves and avoid accountability. What does this sound like? It might make some people wonder whether or not this is one of those companies that runs out of a basement or an abandoned warehouse on the South Side of Chicago.

In conclusion, I urge county officials to:

1. Cease all ties and business dealings with these tax lien companies or any of their affiliates, as they appear to be shady and “unfair” for lack of better terms.
2. Stop targeting “little guys” for measly amounts of money and go after alleged big fish that are really starving our communities and schools of much-needed property tax revenue.

I hope I don't end up in an alley in the near future beaten to a bloody pulp!

[Lori Allen _]

Another example of someone not paying. This person owns several rental properties in Lakewood. This property is 1381 Cove. The owner has only paid a small portion of his property taxes since he purchased the house from Deutsche Bank in 2010 for only $27,000. His other Lakewood rental properties are all paid up. The current balance here is about $8,300. What's the deal?

1381 Cove 2010.jpg (129.6 KiB) Viewed 5305 times

[Lori Allen _]

How about this property at 1572 W. 117th? The owner purchased this property in 2013 and turned it into a "neighborhood tavern". He has only paid about half of his property taxes each year since that 2013. Why buy a building if you can't even pay the property taxes? Current delinquent balance is over $19,000.

1572 W 117 2013.jpg (139.6 KiB) Viewed 5157 times

[Lori Allen _]

Perhaps someone would like to explain this:

According to The Ohio Secretary of State, a Fady Chamoun is listed as the registered agent of both Aladdin's Eatery and F.C.C. LTD. The F.C.C. LTD company owns the whole strip of stores that Aladdin's Eatery is in.

F.C.C. LTD (Fady Chamoun, owner of Aladdin's) is $,9,360.91 delinquent in property taxes for the last fiscal year as of today, 9/22/16 for the Aladdin's Building on Detroit.

14538 Detroit FCC LTD 12.png (38.7 KiB) Viewed 5037 times

Also notice this excerpt from Mike Summers' 2015 pre-general election campaign finance report. It appears that Mr. Chamoun made a donation to Mike Summers' mayoral campaign in the amount of $500 (home address redacted for obvious reasons).

Chamoun Taxes.jpg (39.16 KiB) Viewed 5037 times

According to county records, Mr. Chamoun lives in an affluent area in one of the west suburbs. Also according to county records, Mr. Chamoun's home measures roughly 5,600 square feet of living space, a five-car-garage, and a 355-foot deep lot. His home is appraised at $512,000. His property taxes are all paid up on this home.

Do I have this correct? Mr. Chamoun can seem to pay for this seemingly lavish estate and can afford to donate $500 to the political campaign of Mike Summers but cannot afford to pay taxes on the building that his business is in? Mr. Chamoun also recently bought on duplex on Belle and appears to be flipping it, according to county records. What is going on here? According to county court records, Mr. Chamoun has never been taken to court for these delinquent property taxes.

This seems strange. Why hasn't C&J Demolition been called yet to plow down the building?

[Bridget Conant]

Now THAT is interesting.

Rumor has it that the restaurant owner who claims business IMPROVED since the hospital closed was from Aladdins.

Now it makes sense. A Summers cheerleader. My my.

[Brian Essi]

Perhaps someone would like to explain this:

According to The Ohio Secretary of State, a Fady Chamoun is listed as the registered agent of both Aladdin's Eatery and F.C.C. LTD. The F.C.C. LTD company owns the whole strip of stores that Aladdin's Eatery is in.

F.C.C. LTD (Fady Chamoun, owner of Aladdin's) is $,9,360.91 delinquent in property taxes for the last fiscal year as of today, 9/22/16 for the Aladdin's Building on Detroit.

14538 Detroit FCC LTD 12.png

Also notice this excerpt from Mike Summers' 2015 pre-general election campaign finance report. It appears that Mr. Chamoun made a donation to Mike Summers' mayoral campaign in the amount of $500 (home address redacted for obvious reasons).

Chamoun Taxes.jpg

According to county records, Mr. Chamoun lives in an affluent area in one of the west suburbs. Also according to county records, Mr. Chamoun's home measures roughly 5,600 square feet of living space, a five-car-garage, and a 355-foot deep lot. His home is appraised at $512,000. His property taxes are all paid up on this home.

Do I have this correct? Mr. Chamoun can seem to pay for this seemingly lavish estate and can afford to donate $500 to the political campaign of Mike Summers but cannot afford to pay taxes on the building that his business is in? Mr. Chamoun also recently bought on duplex on Belle and appears to be flipping it, according to county records. What is going on here? According to county court records, Mr. Chamoun has never been taken to court for these delinquent property taxes.

This seems strange. Why hasn't C&J Demolition been called yet to plow down the building?

Mrs. Allen,

Fady Chamoun is a good restaurateur and a good businessman. Lakewood is lucky to have such a businessman and the businesses he runs.

If I am reading the amount owed on the tax bill, it is only slightly more than a half year net taxes. If it is delinquent, he will have to pay the usual penalty, but in my opinion, this is hardly a reason to smear his good name and the fine establishments he operates.

I certainly hope the County Prosecutor does not waste our our tax dollars prosecuting taxpayers who are only slightly in arrears.

[Lori Allen _]

Perhaps it should be noted that the last time the taxes were paid, in-full, on the property was in 2012. Since then, the taxes have only been paid partially each year.

2012, the last year taxes were paid in full:

14538 Detroit 2012.jpg (120.9 KiB) Viewed 4892 times

2013, taxes only paid about halfway:

14538 Detroit 2013.jpg (122.24 KiB) Viewed 4892 times

2014, only about 65% of balance due was paid:

14538 Detroit 2014.jpg (108.15 KiB) Viewed 4892 times

The whole point of this thread was that "little guys" are being targeted by Cuyahoga County for owing as little as $500. Many of the "little guys" were terminally ill, African-American, Hispanic, or Arabic. Meanwhile, big business owners and alleged mayor friends appear to not be paying taxes. From what I gather, some of these "little guys" that have been targeted for very petty amounts of taxes are now homeless. These people qualify as the "underserved" in Lakewood.

I would like to think that I am not "smearing" him, just stating facts. Taxes are owed. He is a Summers' campaign donor. He lives in a lavish, 5,600 square-foot estate with a five-car garage. He just bought a house on Belle for $70,000 and apparently flipped it. Those are all facts. It is all public information.

He is more than welcome to correct the issue by paying the taxes. It seems simple to me. That is at least almost $10,000 that the community, mainly the schools, are losing.

[Dan Alaimo]

I'm not very good with financials, but it appears the tax owed is not accumulating, which means he is paying it off, including penalties.
So he's paying in full, but on a different schedule. If I understand that correctly, I don't have problem with it.

[Lori Allen _]

Sometimes it isn't easy to interpret this stuff. My apologies if it wasn't quite clear enough. More will come later that will hopefully explain it a little bit better.

I will finally state that Mr. Chamoun purchased a double on Marlowe behind Lakewood Presbyterian Church ten days ago today. I just find it curious that he appears to be buying up all of these properties, when he is evidently having difficulty paying the taxes he already owes on time.

With that being said, I am sure Mr. Chamoun is a nice guy and a great businessman. Still, there are questions worth asking.

If you haven't already, download and view the "little guys" PDF file at the top of this thread. This will list just a handful of seemingly everyday joes and underprivileged people that have either had their houses taken or almost taken by Cuyahoga County for owing petty amounts of property taxes. That is where I have a problem.

[Lori Allen _]

Does anyone remember Mack Products that used to be on Hird? The building is now vacant, apparently. It appears that Cuyahoga County is giving the owner of this building a free ride on his property taxes on the Mack Products building, as he hasn't bothered to pay them since 2012. He has now racked up over $52,000 in delinquent property taxes.

The owner of the building in question lives in Westlake. He paid $195,000 for his house back in 1996. It is now appraised at almost $300,000. He somehow manages to pay the taxes on his private home.

Why aren't Cuyahoga County and/or the alleged tax lien thieves filing a foreclosure case against this property? Why aren't they filing a tax lien and tacking on an 18% interest rate on the $52,000 that this person owes? They have no problem tacking on an 18% interest rate with "little guys".

1384 Hird.jpg (101.04 KiB) Viewed 4704 times

I wonder how Samira, Nasrey, Russell, or Shaun would feel about this property owner apparently getting a free ride when they had their homes taken by alleged tax lien thieves for a measly few thousand or few hundred dollars in delinquent taxes. Good luck finding them, as some of these foreclosures over measly amounts of taxes have resulted in homelessness.

What is wrong with this picture? Perhaps the DOJ and Avery Friedman would be interested in looking into this.

Besides the apparently racist undertones in this process, one has to wonder what is to be gained by going after little guys but not big fish. Everyone remembers the building on Madison that the mayor had demolished recently. The owner of that building owed $74,000 in delinquent taxes. City Hall and Summers claimed they did not have any idea who owned it or where to find them. I found the owner, co-owner, and their addresses in less than five minutes through public records. Said owner also owns several other properties in Lakewood. Really?

This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. When these people that can apparently afford to pay their taxes refuse to do so, it can really take a toll on our community, especially our local schools, which are funded heavily through property taxes. Combine this with a government that appears to target little guys instead of big fish, and you could really have a mess.

While Cuyahoga County is ultimately responsible for going after these "big fish", Summers and the Board of Education should also be taking an interest.

[Lori Allen _]

There is a property on Hopkins that I may have mentioned before. It is in the 1400 block. It is owned by a gentleman named David. David has apparently abandoned the property, moved to North Carolina, and has paid zero property taxes since the 2010 fiscal year. No property taxes at all have been paid. The accumulated balance is now $20,819.76. This includes water, sewer, and grass-cutting bills from city hall. According to public records, no tax liens have been filed against the property. Not to mention the property is a mess. The backyard grass is always overgrown, the house is stained with an unknown brown substance, and the front porch floor appears to be rotted. No building violation cases have ever been filed against this property.

DH Hopkins 1.jpg (162.36 KiB) Viewed 4519 times

DH Hopkins 2.jpg (91.04 KiB) Viewed 4519 times

David has apparently been given a free ride by Cuyahoga County on his property taxes for almost seven years. This is almost $21,000 that could be put into our schools and community.

Meanwhile, people like Samira, Nasrey, and Alexsandar are being targeted and having their homes taken from underneath them for owing as little as $500 in property taxes.

Gus Frangos is President and General Counsel for the Cuyahoga Land Bank. Frangos' six-figure salary is paid through the collection of delinquent property taxes. The Cuyahoga Land Bank has been one of the key players in the apparent "demolition crusade" that appears to have been going on in Lakewood. Mr. Frangos also, under the guise of numerous shell LLC companies, owns the run-down, blighted North Parking Garage, according to public records. Frangos is also not even a county resident. He lives in a lavish home in a rural part of Hudson.

Cuyahoga County, please end this seemingly discriminatory practice of targeting elderly and minority homeowners in urban areas by sending the tax lien thieves after them for as little as $500. Please stop the seemingly preferential treatment of white, out-of-state, wealthy, or politically-connected property owners (A.K.A. alleged Summers & Extended Co.'s friends).