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Could the Costa Del Mar HOA end up being dissolved with former board members brought up on criminal charges and face deportation?

Could the Costa Del Mar HOA end up being dissolved with former board members brought up on criminal charges and face deportation?

There is little pleasure in saying I told you so. But I would be remiss if I did not say flat out that I do feel a small amount of pleasure in the fact that I did indeed in my first article I ever wrote regarding the HOA at Costa del Mar say at the end of the article that the HOA should negotiate some kind of settlement with Francisco Velez Villa.

The HOA has lost the lawsuit Francisco brought against them and the appeal as well so here in a nut shell is what that loss means.

  • The HOA must turn over all accounting records in detail to the Judge. Everything that Costa del Mar HOA has must now be turned over to a Judge. Invoices, receipts, you name it and the HOA has to turn it over. It is Francisco’s believe that this is the real reason that the HOA appealed the case since there was no way in hell they could win the appeal. The reason for appeal was not simply about paying lawyers fees, the HOA did not want to have to turn over all of its incomplete records to a Judge. They have lost and they must now do so.
  • The HOA has no right to an Amparo or injunction in this case.
  • The HOA will have to pay all lawyers expenses plus audit fees. This amount is still being calculated by attorneys but will certainly be some where between 200,000 and 300,000 pesos.
  • Because there is evidence of fraud the Judge will turn this case over to the Ministerio Publico who will then be looking at who was in charge of the HOA at the time. Criminal charges could be brought against former members of the board. These former members of the board could be deported from Mexico and their properties forfeited.
  • Mexico’s IRS, Hacienda can now be informed of the problems that the HOA has with their accounting and the fact that according to Mexican law a non profit can not hold money in saving’s accounts or CD’s and must return money that is not spend by the end of the year back to the residents in one form or another. Whether that be in the form or cash or credit on HOA fees. It seems clear that this has never been done in the history of the HOA. From what I recall the HOA has tens of thousands of dollars in their accounts. This may be legal in the U.S. but according to the lawyer for the plaintiff, who just kicked CDM’s ass, it is not legal.
  • The HOA could be dissolved at some point. This would mean that another HOA would have to be formed and then of course residents who live there can opt out of being involved in any form of HOA.

Maybe the board of directors at the CDM should have perhaps thought to take our advise of arbitration back in May of 2013. This might all of have been behind them if they had. I wonder if the home owners out there will start paying a bit more attention to this law suit now?

15 Responses to Could the Costa Del Mar HOA end up being dissolved with former board members brought up on criminal charges and face deportation?

  1. I watched this because I wanted to see what the law suit was all about. I’m still not clear as to why this man was auditing the HOA. I didn’t hear one specific claim that money was embezzled, other than by a previous administrator (not a board member) who was fired for stealing dues she pocketed. Lesson learned in Mexico, ALWAYS get a receipt. Having first hand knowledge of CDM, I can tell you some of his statements are completely false and you can tell when answering specific questions he is evasive. He makes some outrageous claims about the three American board members going to jail and losing their properties before being kicked out of the country, but I didn’t hear exactly why. At 9:52, he says that the board members need to change every year. There is an election every year and they were elected by the majority. There are some factual errors about how long certain board members served. In his opinion the streets are a catastrophe, but the roads were rubble before the new street was put in, and the process for selecting the surface took about 12 months, going through several different votes along the way. It surprises me that he claims the HOA can not have money in reserves for catastrophes like Jimmena? The budget, including the amount kept in reserve is voted on every year. What I see here is a person who is attempting to use the corrupt judicial system to break apart an HOA that he owes money to. Love them or hate them, HOA’s are the only way for a neighborhood to have nice roads, street lights and attractive grounds that the Mexican government will not provide. HOA’s are the only way for neighbors to pool their money together to get things done for the neighborhood. And those who pay into the pool get an equal vote as to how that money is spent. It looks like this is one of the MANY residents in the CDM HOA who is happy to reap the benefits of every one elses contribution, but does not want to pay. This is a frivolous law suit that has little to do with the facts and it’s a travesty that the Mexican legal system can bury a small neighborhood association with the unavoidable legal fees. This is extortion perpetrated by his Mexican lawyer. Vince is only showing one side of the story.

  2. The Man is auditing the HOA because.

    Number one he has the right as a homeowner who was paying dues to see the books, or doesn’t he? A judge agreed with him. Shouldn’t anyone who is a home owner be able to see the accounting records of their HOA?

    He also believes that fishy things have happened out there. I know from speaking with home owners that employees of the HOA were accused of steeling money.

    There is only one story here and that is the fact that the CDM HOA lost a law suit. There are more coming. It is undeniable that the HOA has done some seriously dumb ass shit, not to say illegal! Remember when they decided to deny home owners access to their property at the gate?

    I think many home owners out there are ignorant of what the HOA has done in the past. I know home owners out there are ignorant of Mexican law. For example on one of the home owners meeting I went to once I was told by a home owner that the HOA owns the streets there. This is not correct. I have spoken with city officials many times on this subject and the reality is that Guaymas owns the streets not the HOA. Now it is great that the HOA has fixed the streets but that doesn’t mean that they own them.

    I would ask that you clarify which of his statements are false just for the record.

    I am sure Francisco remembers things wrong. This goes back 12 years now but I doubt he has forgotten the big stuff.

    If the HOA has absolutely no accounting for two years then that would suggest that something went very very wrong indeed. No accounting records for two years? Wouldn’t the board of directors be responsible for loosing the records?

    If the numbers don’t match up then were did the money go?

    According to Francisco’s lawyer by Mexican law the HOA can not have money in reserve, it has to give the money back because it is a non profit. Is it true that the HOA has CD’s and is making interest on the money? If that is true then the HOA would seem to be in violation of Mexican law.

    Now I find it very interesting that Francisco is accused of using the corrupt judicial system to get out of paying when it was Francisco himself that was attacked at his own home by the boyfriend of a board member. The CDM then spent 25,000 dollars mas o menos to bribe judge to keep the aggressor from going to jail!

    Karleen actually bragged to people and was proud of the fact that they bribed the judge to keep Ken out of the clink. I don’t think the board was authorized to spend 25,000 dollars or what ever defending a guy who was clearly guilty and not a member of the board. Is that embezzlement? A board member using money for the legal defense of a boyfriend? Is that a civil or criminal violation according to Mexican law? I am just asking questions, questions that I would think any resident out there would have the right to ask.

    If the SAT, Mexican IRS, gets involved I think it gets tricky for the HOA. If it is true that non profits have to give money back at the end of the year to home owners and then SAT finds out that the HOA has multiple saving’s accounts I think it could be game over for the HOA.

    I find it amazing that the poster here is saying that since the HOA voted to have a reserve and to have saving’s accounts that some how their vote gets to trump Mexican law.

    It would seem to me that the CDM HOA has not had a good lawyer since Pedro Parasuelos, may he rest in peace, threw tens of thousands of dollars around Guaymas bribing MP’s and judge’s.

    The CDM HOA reeks of HOA syndrome.

  3. Your response brought up an entirely new topic that had nothing to do with Francisco’s law suit, which if I understand your story correctly was to force a costly audit of the HOA’s accounting. The fight, which was indefensible, is an entirely different issue that has no connection to the audit. But if you want to rehash the fight, you know it takes two to tango and even though his reaction was wrong, do you think Ron was not provoked? Provoked by a man who has made it his life’s mission to be a thorn in the side of the volunteers who serve on the community association board. Provoked by a man who chose to live in a neighborhood that has a community association, but then chose not to pay for shared expenses that the neighborhood, by democratic vote agreed on. Provoked by a racist bigot who clearly does not like Americans living in Mexico despite the fact that one of Francisco’s strongest defenders after the fight is now one of the Americans he wants deported. Vince, I know you see yourself as a Social Justice Warrior, but you’re just making up a “David vs Goliath” story filled with unsubstantiated accusations and lies. This is not Truth in Journalism. This is TRASH

  4. Como primera instancia debemos recordar que los vecinos decidieron constituirse como una asociación civil sin fines de lucro, y como tal deben de regirse bajo sus bases constitutivas y estatutos internos. Por ello, no aplica la ley general de condominio del estado. Ya que la ley especial deroga a la ley general.
    De nuevo es importante señalar que una asociación civil no está creada para fines de lucro, de ser así caemos en un delito.
    Las persona que aquí han expresado sus erróneos comentarios, no son más que una bola de ignorantes de las leyes que rigen en el lugar donde viven. Este tipo de personas se han aprovechado de la bondad de las normas mexicanas para cometer delitos aquí en México, creando una asociación civil que no tiene fines de lucro, que sin embargo la han convertido en una empresa particular. Al grado que ciertos directivos se han enriquecido a costa de la colonia. Aprovechándose de su situación, han llegado al grado de tener varias cuentas bancarias con grandes cantidades de dinero.
    El mejor consejo que les puedo dar como persona, es que se busquen un buen abogado, porque los que han administrado el dinero de la asociación están a punto de meterse en un problema de tipo criminal. Que les llevaría a la cárcel o bien ser expulsados del país y por lo consiguiente pérdida de sus bienes.

    We must remember that the neighbors decided to establish itself as a nonprofit association, and as such should be governed under its rules and regulations. Therefore, it does not apply to condominium State law. Again it is important to note that an association is not created for profit, if so it is a crime.
    The people here have expressed their erroneous comments, and are ignorant of Mexican laws. Such people have taken advantage of the Mexican laws to commit crimes in Mexico, and created a nonprofit association, and are treating it like a business company in which to make money. To the extent that some board members have been enriched at the expense of the colony. Taking advantage of their situation, they have reached the point of having several bank accounts with large amounts of money. Which is illegal because it is a nonprofit organization.
    The best advice I can give you as a person, is that you look for a good lawyer, because those who have managed the money of the association are about to get into a criminal problem. That would take them to jail or be expelled from the country and the loss of their property.

  5. I got to be honest with you Fact Checker, your post is idiotic. This is a blog, not a journalistic publication. It seems like you guys don’t understand the difference between the two. There is no new topic. Francisco brought up this audit because he felt that the HOA has shitty accounting. He brought up the law suit because he feels that the HOA did illegal stuff. Now A judge agreed with him. I think he also brought up the law suit because he was locked out of driving his own car to his own home as well. I think another reason he brought up the law suit was he was attacked by a man named Ron at his own house. Now he decided to go after the HOA on shitty accounting and I think he and his lawyer believe that shitty accounting can mean money was not spent properly. Again a judge would seem to have agreed with him. I would say that the HOA at the CDM has no one to blame but themselves for the shit they are in. You guys can make all the Ad Hominen attacks you like on me but that won’t change the fact that the HOA just lost a law suit and if sources are correct there are more coming your way!!

  6. Francisco, perhaps you should answer the question for one of the people who posted here. What two years did the HOA fail to report any accounting? Actually I would urge you in the sake of transparency to post the results of the whole audit and cite Mexican Law on non profits.

  7. De acuerdo a la auditoria no hay documentacion desde 01 enero de el 2004 hasta el 31 de dic 2006..y algunos documentos de el 2007.
    No voy a dar mas informacion porque es caer en un juego. Dejemos las cosas caigan por su peso.

    According to the audit there is not any information. Papers from 01/01/2004 to 31/12/2007. And 2007 missing some information too. I`m not going to give more information. This is not game. The truth will come out in the end.

  8. Well there you have it. How could a judge rule in favor of an HOA that has no paper work for years? I hear there is a big meeting out there at the end of the month and that at least one person out there is going to try to have the current board impeached and removed from their posts.

    I guess the plot thickens at the Costa Del Mar!!

  9. Not sure what that means but I wonder how the law suits played out…….I suspect the only ones you profited from all of them were the lawyers….

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