Lawsuit against TDEY's DASA/ Mastiff "team" (Welner & Leinwand) for "Deceptive and unfair business practices and false advertising in violation of New York General Business Law"
March 14, 2018 (TV video available on the link at the end of the report)
"Mastiff Group LLC behind missing payments to Mishawaka Utilities"
MISHAWAKA, Ind. (WNDU)- We're getting a closer look at the company who owns the Village Green Manufactured Home Community in Mishawaka. You might remember this is the community where hundreds of residents have been paying their water and trash bills monthly, but the city said property owners are not giving that money to Mishawaka Utilities and haven't been since July 2017.
Now, the City of Mishawaka says they owe them over 350,000 dollars even though the residents have been paying their bills.
An owner reached out to NewsCenter 16 and said the community is owned by Village Green Mishawaka Holdings, LLC and that the Mastiff Group, LLC is an investor in that company.
Mastiff is accused of partaking in deceptive business practices.
The allegations allege they follow a similar pattern of deception that Mastiff promises to pay services similar to Mishawaka Utilities and finds excuse after excuse to not follow through. According to SPA-Simrad, Inc. v. Daniel Wainstein, Marissa Welner, Jonathan Leinwand, Michael Sokoloff and Thomas Seifert, Mastiff had partaken in "Deceptive and unfair business practices and false advertising in violation of New York General Business Law." The case was later dismissed.
Mishawaka Utilities said they stopped receiving payments in July of 2017. According to Mishawaka's attorney Geoffrey Spiess, Village Green's balance owed to Mishawaka Utilities was $154,234.87 on Aug. 1, 2017. Spiess said Mishawaka Utilities' General Manager James M. Schrader had been in "direct communication with Village Green ownership representatives about their account balances" and because of the high balance, they shut off electricity to the Village Green office on Aug. 14, 2017.
Soon after, Village Green's attorney Barbara Ann Grant contacted Spiess by phone saying they wanted to resolve the differences between the amounts due and what Village Green believed was due. According to Spiess, this back and forth exchange between Village Green's attorney and Mishawaka happened numerous times between August 2017 and March 2018.
Because of all of the overdue balances, Mishawaka Utilities ceased trash pickup last Monday. On Monday, Village Green performed their own pickup of cans that have been out on the curb for a week.
"We're trying our best to empty the barrels and the trash to at least try and get everything picked up," said Doug McFarland of maintenance and grounds at Village Green. "It's going to take more than one day."
"The trash pickup to me is not important," said one resident who wishes to be called Rachel. "The most important thing here is are they going to pay the water bill? I don't care about the trash that's not going to render me homeless."
"We have very little choice but to discontinue service," said Schrader. "No one else in our city has the luxury of not paying their bill and still continuing service, so we have tried to keep this from harming the residents, but there comes a time where we have to take some action."
Knowing the owners have not paid has residents like a woman who wishes to be called Emily on edge.
"Neither one of us has slept," Emily said. "Trying to do research, trying to make sense of this trying to wonder why we weren't notified. Nobody's giving us answers and we're in the dark."
Residents have dumped their trash in vacant fields and now nervously wait to see if their water will really be shut off on April 12. Residents received a letter from the city saying that would be the cutoff date. If so, that would violate code enforcement so they would be forced to leave their homes.
"We hope that it doesn't come to that point that we're able to reconcile these problems and receive payment from the property owners," said Schrader.
"We're frightened because they've done it to much bigger clients than just a residence of a mobile home park," Rachel said. "My hope is fading quickly because of all the information I'm reading on the owners."
Both Emily and Rachel are questioning if they should even pay their next lot rent, water and trash bills because they'll be forced from their homes if the water does get shut off.
"Our homes will be open for vandalism and theft," Rachel said. "Who's going to protect our homes?"
Property Manager Heather Moots told NewsCenter 16 that a woman named Marissa Welner is the property owner. Welner is affiliated with Mastiff as per email signature in a previous message sent to NewsCenter 16. Welner's name is also one of several listed in the court case mentioned above.
Emily and Rachel said the people who live in the neighborhood are mostly very good people who use the trailer toward a down payment on a small home or are college educated and just need cheaper living. They don't want to see their neighbors have to go through this.
NewsCenter 16 reached out to Welner and left a message late Monday morning on her phone and received no call back. On Saturday, Welner sent this statement to NewsCenter 16:
"We are working with Mishawaka Utilities to reach an agreement regarding the current dispute as soon as possible. As always, our first concern is for the health, safety and rights of our tenants."
Monday night we spoke to Mayor Dave Wood who said they've done everything they can to make the company pay up.
"We've worked with the owners every way we can, we've answered every question that they've asked it's become very evident to us that they just don't want to pay us," Wood said. "It's a bad situation all around, but we're going to be here to help the residents out as best as we can."
Mishawaka Utilities suggests residents really start working to learn what their options are with relief agencies. They encourage residents to keep trying to reach out to the owners to convince them to pay up.
Schrader said the April 12 deadline can change if they receive money from the property owners. He said they're expected to pay 73,250 dollars this week for unpaid trash services. Schrader said (Mastiff Group's) Daniel Wainstein of Village Green Mishawaka Enterprises, LLC reached out on Friday agreeing to it.
According to Schrader, the water system at Village Green is owned by them and not by the city so the city can't step in and take over the water or bill people individually.
