In an invoice/letter dated 3/9/15 that Robert Sher sent to HHSG (the receiver), Sher has demanded that he and Jack Shaw be paid an immediate sum of $17,645.64. This is allegedly 'owed' to them for their 'services' from December of 2014 through February of 2015.
Furthermore, Sher's letter also states that he and Jack must be paid a total sum of $5,881.88 EVERY MONTH going forward until the YEAR 2020!!
In the letter, Sher claims that the (now ousted) master board had made an agreement with the 'oversight committee' (Robert & Jack) to pay them every month for five years with an optional three year extension (total of eight years - i.e through 2020). Sher claims that he and Jack are owed this money because of the 'savings' they created for Cedar Run.
This letter was presented in court by the receiver on 4/22. The receiver HAS NOT paid anything to Robert or Jack, and in the receiver's own report, he "[does] not recommend payment based on previous court decisions...." In other words, he will not make this payment unless told by the court to do so.
Next Hearing 5/5/15
We will not speculate on how the judge will rule on this matter. We will let him speak for himself at the 5/5 hearing.
But keep the following things in mind.
- Sher's letter claims that there is an 'agreement' with the Master Board, but it stops short of using the word 'contract'. This may indicate that there was never any kind of written agreement or obligation for the board to pay him indefinitely.
- The board that supposedly made this agreement likely had no legal right to make such an agreement. This is primarily due to the fact that they were operating under a bogus set of Bylaws. Also, they almost certainly did not have enough directors to make up a quorum as defined by our true governing docs.
8 Year Agreement
To give an idea of how ridiculous the terms are of Sher's so-called 'agreement', we thought we'd show an excerpt from a typical, professional condo property management contract.
TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT
The Agreement may be terminated by either party with or without cause, upon sixty (60) days prior written notice.
What does this mean?? It means that a board of directors has the right to fire their property management at any time and for any reason, as long as they provide sixty days notice.
Conversely, in the case of Robert Sher.....
He first tried to adopt Bylaws that make him (and Jack) virtually impossible to fire. Now, he claims that there was a five year agreement to have them both paid -AND- a three year 'optional' extension that is somehow already in effect (even though the first five years has not yet elapsed). And even though both he and Jack have been ousted from any management role on the property, Sher still claims that the agreement entitles him to payment.
In Closing
While we must wait patiently for the completion of the financial audit results and election announcement, we ask all Cedar Run homeowners to keep the following in mind:
When Sher campaigned for your vote in the summer of 2012, did he mention anything about putting himself (or Jack) on the payroll for almost 6 grand per month? NO!
Did he mention anything about abolishing elections, scrapping the bylaws, or signing himself to an 8 year contract and no possibility of being fired or removed? NO again!
Had you known these were his plans, would you have voted for him? We hope NOT.
.....And we hope that the past two years will serve as a lesson to all homeowners when making their decision in the upcoming election as well as their phase elections.
Check back regularly for more info.
We'd love to hear from you!
(224) 544-9058
Folks, Just a reminder to keep the comments clean and free of profanity, derogatory insults, or personal attacks.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for reading & commenting!
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ReplyDeleteAn 8 year contract?!? Are you kidding me?!? No way the courts are going to let this one slide. I suggest that the court should demand sworn affidavits from any former board member that supposedly entered into such an agreement.
ReplyDeleteWake up and smell the roses, folks!! Sher's whole entire motive was to provide a healthy income for himself and his family. Any so-called "savings" that he provided us were nothing more than a smoke screen and a 'trickle-down' effect at best!!
Now's he trying to play some game semantics with "contracts" verses "agreements" and "optional extensions" to try and maintain his Cedar Run income. It's all a load of crap!
For example, he still claims that his BS bylaws are valid (despite what the court says). But those bylaws say that his pay rate would be negotiated every year and they mention nothing about a contract or long-term agreement. They also say that one of them has to maintain a real estate broker's license. According to the state licensing board, Jack Shaw's license expired over a year ago! See for yourself.....
https://ilesonline.idfpr.illinois.gov/Lookup/LicenseLookup.aspx
According to his own wacko bylaws, his demand for payment is a NO-GO!!
Bottom line, folks: Robert Sher will play any angle he can, no matter how contradictory, to benefit his own interests. He has his shameless, incompetent, sisters-in-law working for his benefit, at our expense!!
If we ever do get this election, I sure hope that it will put an end to all the nonsense and all the swindles from that crooked family! I really miss the days when we could just count on the property being maintained and just live our lives in peace!!
the judge is taking his sweet time because with all the evidence is true and again plenty of time &money waisted ! put these criminals behind bars revoke Ann shaws license &demand the shers &shaws repay all the money that was removed from our account &if the lisence was expired last year than that should also be revoked
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting tidbit about Jack Shaw's broker license. At the end of the day though, it has nothing to do with Cedar Run. Given all the consumer complaints about his apartment finding service, he probably let it lapse instead of fighting the allegations. Now Anne Shaw is the broker for their agency.......talk about keeping it in the family.
DeleteAs for other things, the court system is inherently inefficient at getting things done. That is why it is always best when parties can settle their differences out of court...sadly Cedar Run homeowners don't have that choice thanks to the Sher group. It is also taking a long time for the accountants to sort out the records and perform the audit due to the poor bookkeeping by the Sher group.
We will have to wait patiently for the audit results and election announcement.
For now, homeowners are strongly encouraged to participate in their phase elections. Don't be surprised if Sher directs his patsies to try and to take over some phase boards.
$her managed 2 phases and left them both broke and then pulled out. What kind of person would run for a phase position then be silly enough to hire him to destroy their phase as well? AND let us not forget, $arbara $haw was the master board president, without her this would never have happened......................
DeleteAll the more reason for homeowners to participate in their phase annual meetings.....
DeleteThere are a small number of homeowners that still believe the nonsense that Sher tells them - far less now that we're in receivership, but sill a few stalwart supporters. At Sher's command, these few supporters will do all they can to disrupt the operation of the phase associations and help Sher gain some influence.
If homeowners are asleep at the wheel and do not participate.....it does not take a huge number of votes to influence a phase election outcome.
Attend the meetings if you can. If not, be sure to vote via proxy. The proxy will allow you to pre-select a candidate (only if they got their nomination forms in on time) or designate someone to vote on your behalf. Only designate someone if you know how they plan to cast your vote.
If you have any questions about phase elections and/or candidates, feel free to email us at restoreCR@gmail.com.
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ReplyDeleteSher might not be able to get a pool pass... he is most likely not paying his assessmen ts.....Figuring he is above all that.....
DeleteGiven that he basically has free legal counsel, he can get away with a lot longer than most.
DeleteWho wants to guess how many thousands of dollars worth of assessments Sher owes??
Hopefully the audit will clear that one up. Don't forget to include the security systems that he had installed on our dime!
Folks, another reminder....please try and keep your comments free of derogatory statements, personal insults or anything with profanity.
DeleteWe really, really, want your comments! And we know you can get your point across without resorting to name-calling.
The original comment in this thread was just on the borderline, but we decided to remove it. Apologies to the commenter.
Thanks for understanding.
Any news on yesterday's hearing?
ReplyDeleteStill waiting to confirm a few details, but from what we know so far, Sher and Shaw were unsuccessful in arguing that they should be paid. We will update the blog as soon as we have all the information.
DeleteAny information yet? On what happened in court......Is Sher & Shaw really not going to get nothing? Also...do we have a date yet for the Master Board election?
ReplyDeleteYes, their request for payment was denied by the judge. The 'agreement' that they referenced in their invoice was presented in court, and the judge denied it and questioned the enforcability of such an agreement.
DeleteWe will post a copy of the invoice/letter and the so called agreement within the next couple days. Both of them are some of the most outrageous things you will ever read and must be seen to believe.
No election date anounced yet for HOC. That will come from the receiver. They made no mention of any proposed election date in court. Don't expect an election announcement until long after we have been presented with the audit results.
Why is the audit taking so long? Also...does the Receiver have people driving around taking pictures of the property?
DeleteNot only is the audit taking a long time, but it is costing a great deal of money. The main reason why it is taking so long is because the Sher group's record-keeping is absolutely atrocious.......and that's putting it lightly.
DeleteThe accountants need to review all transactions and determine what they were for, how to classify them, how they affect tax liability. When they see something that is a red flag for fraud, they must investigate it. They've got three years of records to go through (several banker's boxes).
At the beginning of that three year period, the Sher group was collecting dues that should have gone to the phase associations. Nobody knows how they accounted for these funds. Sorting that out is a monumental task, but it is necessary to get Cedar Run on the right path.
As for photographing,...We do know that the receiver has been conducting a lot of inspections for needed work as well as documenting rule violations. No guarantee that these are the same people you see taking photographs, but there is a good chance.
question? was the masterboard members covered by insurance?were they registered with the state as our phase officers are ?sounds like a lot of these questions need to be answered if the answer is no then each member is liable and should be brought charges against them as they were part of this elligal take over we need to get a prosecuter to take action &get licenses revoked &why nothing brought up on PRESIDENT BARBARA ? AGAIN THE MASTERBOARD MEMBERS WERE ALL IN IT FOR PROFIT .
ReplyDeleteThe insurance you are asking about is probably what is called D & O coverage (Directors & Officers Liability coverage). From what we know, the entire board, including Sher are/were covered. We know this because the D & O carrier has covered the Master Board's legal costs for the Bank Litigation.
DeleteUp to this point, the D & O has not covered anything for the receivership, defense of the Sher group leading up to the receivership, or anything related to the election/bylaw case. That money has come from HOC homeowner funds. We are not sure if it is possible to file a D & O claim for any of this. If it is possible, the newly elected board should probably consider it as an option to recoup some of that money.
As far as individual board members being held personally liable.....anything is possible, but (without getting into all the details) it is highly unlikely.
We will not comment on the likelihood of any criminal charges or prosecution, but there would probably need to be a criminal verdict against one of the board members (or oversight committee) before that person could be held personally liable.
In response to your comments about Barbara Shaw.....many consider her actions and her husband's actions (and her father's for that matter) to be one and the same. That is one of the core problems with the Sher/Shaw group being in power given the obvious, blatant conflict of interest. That said, it is quite difficult to single her out and separate her individual actions from that of her family unit.