[ad_1]
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A local nonprofit is losing $100 million from the trust accounts of its most vulnerable people. The company’s board of directors has now resigned.
The Special Needs Trust Management Center is like a ghost town. Only an off-duty St. Pete police officer answered the door.
The center filed for bankruptcy a month ago after learning that founders Leo Govoni and John Stanton had not repaid $100 million in loans over 11 years, according to filings.
Last week, 8 On Your Side spoke with center spokeswoman Beth Latham, who said the center’s new leadership is working on the plan.
“We hate that this is happening, but we are all working around the clock to get the money back where it belongs,” Latham said. Ta.
However, as of this week, the board has resigned, making what Leythem told us last week even more concerning.
Asked about the director of the center, he said: “I am not aware of it.”
So who is currently in charge of running a center that manages $100 million of vulnerable people’s money and is looking for the remaining $100 million that is missing, according to this bankruptcy filing? , the federal government has appointed a receiver.
“In this case, an independent person would bring in their own investigators to the corporation, in this case a nonprofit corporation, and provide their own accounting information to better understand who was affected and to what extent.” Thomas Rieder said.
Mr. Reeder is the Managing Partner of Reeder Law Firm, based in South Florida.
“What happened was terrible,” Rieder said. “This should never have happened.”
Reeder was furious and, along with another lawyer, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the Chamberlin family.
“Their lives have been shattered,” Reeder said.
Fifteen-year-old twin brothers Clark and Sawyer were born prematurely and ended up in the NICU. Clark is currently disabled.
“I represented the Chamberlin family in a fundamental medical malpractice case that concluded in late 2020,” Reeder said.
Reeder said the family received a large settlement in that medical malpractice case. Money that Todd and Kelly Chamberlin will use to care for Clark for the rest of his life. To protect Mr. Clark’s money, it was placed in a trust at the center.
“They believed they could provide Clark with financial security going forward, and that was the ultimate goal for the family,” Reeder said.
But that goal was dashed on Valentine’s Day when the Chamberlins discovered that not only had the center managing their son’s money filed for bankruptcy, but all of his money was gone.
“How much money drained from their son’s account?” the leader was asked.
“It was a significant amount of money,” Reeder said. “They are among the top 30 creditors on the list.”
The bankruptcy filing lists the creditors and families most affected by the center’s lack of funds. One family had over $4.5 million drained from their accounts alone.
“This should not have happened to these vulnerable people in our community, who fought tooth and nail for what they deserved to see at the fair back then, only to have it taken away from them as a result. But that only adds insult to injury,” Reeder said.
8 On Your Side has been trying to contact Govoni for two weeks and is also trying to contact Stanton. We previously reported that they exited in 2009 but still had control of the center, according to bankruptcy filings. We went to his one of their businesses on 49th Street in Clearwater. Govoni’s son came out to speak with Investigator Brittany Mueller and directed her to her father’s attorney, Eric Koenig. He didn’t answer our calls or emails.
[ad_2]
Source link
