Former NC HOA President arrested for theft of $140K

By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities

Here’s this week’s new report of another HOA embezzlement.

After a District Attorney office investigation, Elaine Lofton was arrested for allegedly taking over $140,000 from Manor House Condominiums in Hickory, NC. The thefts occurred over a six-year period, from 2008 to 2014.

Hickory Woman Accused of Embezzling from Homeowners’ Association

Apparently no one was looking at bank statements for six years?

And that begs the question: why is there no legal requirement to proactively email a Notice of New Bank Statements to each and every member of an Association-Governed Residential Community? All owners should know that these bank accounts exist, and should be able to view statements as they are completed.

I have a hunch that if all owners were able to view each bank statement every month or quarter, someone would have noticed a discrepancy when the first bit of money went missing. I doubt it would have taken 6 years to discover and report theft of association funds.