More than 70 properties 鈥� home to hundreds of renters 鈥� are caught up in a massive mortgage fraud battle. But people living at the largest of those properties could get help soon.
The properties were owned by Vision & Beyond until the company abandoned them late last year. One of the company's founders, Stas Grinberg, currently is in Butler County Jail on federal fraud charges. The whereabouts of co-founder Peter Gizuntermann are unknown. Both founders are parties in a series of foreclosure claims, fraud lawsuits, and other legal problems.
Attorneys representing the city of Cincinnati told Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins May 8 the city is stepping in at one former Vision & Beyond property: Kirby Apartments in Mount Airy, because conditions have gotten so dire there.
One major concern: a sewage leak that has leached into a nearby creek. The city says a water flow test using dye showed the sewage is entering the creek. Cincinnati is ready to pay $100,000 to get that problem assessed, attorneys said, and already has paid a contractor to fix an issue with a boiler at the complex.
Residents at Kirby say they have struggled with lack of heat, severe leaks, flooding, and other issues in their units. WVXU has viewed collapsed ceilings, ankle-deep water in one resident's unit, and other issues.
Their struggles mirror conditions at other Vision & Beyond properties. About 60 of those currently are under receivership with Prodigy Properties. But uncertainty over whether investors or lenders own the buildings mean Prodigy can't get funding to make needed repairs, the company says.
Jenkins is the fourth judge to preside over the case. He took over from Judge Leah Dinkelacker late last month when the complex litigation moved to the court's commercial docket. Jenkins said during May 8's hearing that he will prioritize conditions at Kirby Apartments since the situation is so dire there.
Meanwhile, the question of who ultimately owns the buildings continues. Legal representatives for lenders allege Vision & Beyond's founders took out mortgages on the properties, even though the investors Vision & Beyond attracted actually owned them.
"This case is about who is going to be left holding the bag," said J.P. Burleigh, an attorney for one group of investors. "Between the investors and the lenders, not everyone is going to win."
In the meantime, many residents remain caught in the middle.
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