The Ethics Inquiry Board reviewed three new complaints.
The first complaint was dismissed as not being an ethical
violation and the second complaint will be investigated.
In the third complaint, a member’s CPM status will be
terminated as the CPM pled guilty in U.S. District Court
to engaging in a scheme to conceal material information
from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and witness
tampering. Under the IREM bylaws, the Ethics Inquiry
Board may terminate status when a member is convicted
of a crime.
One hearing was conducted by the Appeal Board. The
Hearing and Discipline Board terminated the membership status of a CPM Member who is the owner of a
property management firm. The Complainant, who was
the President of an HOA, alleged the CPM Member failed
to provide accurate and auditable financial records and
that the management company prepared its own invoices,
adding unauthorized and undisclosed service fees. The
Responding CPM Member attended the appeal hearing.
Based on information presented to it, the Appeal Board
determined to send the complaint back to the Hearing
Board for their consideration.
The Hearing and Discipline Board conducted three
hearings. In the first hearing, a CPM Member was
charged with conflict of interest for using a company
vendor to paint and clean her personal residence without
paying for those services. The Complainant also alleged
the CPM Member provided the vendor with confidential
bidding information of competitors who were bidding the
same contract. The CPM Member attended the hearing with an attorney. The Complainant attended with
an attorney and a witness. The Hearing Board found the
CPM Member in violation of the article dealing with conflicts of interest. The CPM will be issued a published letter
of censure, will be suspended for three years, and must
successfully complete the IREM ethics course, ETH800,
by December 31, 2011 or membership status will be terminated.
In the second hearing, the managing partner of an
apartment complex charged an Executive CPM Member
Activity of IREM Ethics Boards
at 2011 IREM iCon in Orlando
of an AMO firm with mismanagement and breach of
contract. The complaint cited lack of tenant screening,
employee theft and inadequate employee supervision.
The CPM Member stated that an identical complaint was
submitted to the state real estate commission, which has
taken no action and provided documentation refuting the
Complainant’s claims. The Responding CPM Member did
not attend, but a partner in the firm attended the hearing
with an attorney. The Complainant did not attend. The
Hearing Board found no violation of the Ethics Code.
In the third case, the Complainants, who are the executive CPM and vice president of an AMO firm, charged
two former employees who are both CPM Members,
with stealing business while employed by the firm and
after leaving the firm. The Complainants alleged that
the CPM Members willfully interfered with the firm’s
contractual relationships with clients and attempted to
damage the reputations of its employees. One of the CPM
Respondents, a former vice president of the firm, who was
working as the designated broker for another firm, allegedly supplied the second CPM Respondent, (who was still
employed with the Complainant’s firm at the time of the
alleged conduct) with signed management agreements to
be shared with the Complainant’s clients.
One of the Complainants attended the hearing. The
CPM Respondents testified by telephone at their own
expense. The Hearing Board found the first CPM Member
in violation of the articles of the Code having to do with
loyalty to client, conflict of interest and duty to employer,
and voted to issue a published letter of censure and a
three-year suspension. The first CPM Member must also
successfully complete the IREM ethics course, ETH800,
by December 31, 2011 or membership status will be
terminated. The Hearing Board voted to issue an unpublished letter of censure to the second CPM Member and
a one-year suspension. The second CPM Member must
also successfully complete ETH800 by December 31, 2011
or membership status will be terminated. All parties have
the right to file an appeal.
