Hello my name is Deneen.  I am on this platform on behalf of my 84 year old mother Leatha. Over the past year my mother has been involved in a lawsuit brought on by her neighbor. Our story is a bit complicated but here it is.  

First let me tell you about mom. She’s a mother of three, a former Psychologist, loves her family, friends, culture, art, traveling, walking, biking..I could go on. She’s beautiful, talented,  intelligent, determined, passionate, and again I could go on. Mom is the owner of a condominium located in a two-flat building in Chicago and had been living in this space for over 30 years. As the years passed there have been several different owners of this second unit and unfortunately each more challenging and difficult then the next. However, the present owner of the second unit has been by far the worst.  

Each owner shares the upkeep of the building and property, so there is a Home Owners Association and Bylaws set up. However,  this association has only two members, so it’s not your typical HOA.  

Throughout the years there was no owner that claimed the role as President. They worked together and monthly meetings were scheduled to discuss the needs and repairs.  They each took turns collecting the assessments and paying the bills for the building and property from those assessments. Everything was documented and accounted for, and all receipts/ invoices were kept in a large ledger book…that was how it was done. 

In February of 2015, this woman (who shall  remain nameless ) bought the second unit and moved in. My mother trusted her rather quickly — which was not a common trait of hers.  My siblings and I had been out of the home for quite a while - two of us out of state. Mom was extremely independent then and did not feel the need to tell her children everything, so certain things we did not know, although we talked to her on a regular basis.  

When this woman moved in she Immediately deemed herself as President of the association and took control over all accounts, including collecting the money. The Bylaws and the way the building had been run over the past 30 years were thrown out the window and she ran the property as if it were entirely her own. 

Unfortunately it was also during this time my siblings and I noticed subtle changes in mom’s memory, and the following year she was rushed to the hospital to have emergency surgery due to a blocked colon. As we rushed to be by our mothers side during this frightening time, this women convinced my siblings and I that she only had mom’s best interest at heart. She told us not to worry about the association and she will take care of it…we just need to focus on our mom, which we did. However, we continued paying the Assessments as well. 

As Mom recovered we helped with her estate and managing her bills. We began to suspect something was clearly wrong when this woman always claimed there was an emergency repair situation and needed extra funds because there were none in the assessment account. We began to believe she was stealing and/or misusing Association Funds. However, we were then hit with another blow when Mom was diagnosed with dementia and she could no longer stay in the home that she loved. 

During this difficult time this woman was busy locking Mom out of association accounts. We then discovered mom’s assessment payments were going into this women’s own personal account.  When we asked for banking records, that’s when things took a turn for the worst. We informed her that we would no longer pay the assessments through her, but to the accounts directly and we demanded passwords to the accounts we were locked out of. She in turn sued Mom’s estate for failing to pay dues under the Condominium Association Act.  This is insane because we suspect that she has rarely or had never paid her dues. Although we have asked repeatedly, she has refused to  produce any records or banking statements. This woman is now using resources  from the Association — that mom paid for —against her.  

We believe this is Elder Financial Exploitation. However, in order to proved this, we need to continue this battle. Mom’s legal expenses are getting higher each day and her finances are being drained.  It’s now been over a year. This woman is using every underhanded dirty trick to avoid  being exposed to what we suspect are fraudulent activities. This is where we need your help to continue fighting for our mom. We are a very private family and we’ve been battling this on our own without many of our friends or family knowing, and it’s becoming a burden too much to for us to bear. 

Do we hate this woman even though she’s trying to ruin mom financially? No we do not. I have prayed for this woman and I feel her heart has been infected by selfishness and greed. This woman also needs to be held accountable for her actions and for the damage she’s caused. So on behalf of our mother, my siblings and I, thank you for reading our story and we would appreciate any contribution whether it’s monetary, sharing or prayers. God Bless.