Affordable Housing Scam Ignored by City?

A group known as the South Fayetteville Community Development Corporation appears to have gotten away with a major act of fraud against the City of Fayetteville, and no one at city hall seems to have been paying attention to business. The corporation was supposed to build affordable housing for four families in south Fayetteville. It appears that they only built two houses then sold them to people with incomes that were not low to moderate range. As a result, the owners paid off city liens of $15,000 and $16,000.

The City of Fayetteville gave the development corporation a block grant of $80,000 in 2000, then the city of Fayetteville's Community Development Office purchased a lot at 19 East 4th St with federal Community Development Block Grant funds and transferred ownership of the lot to the corporation for use in building a home for a low- to medium-income resident. In September 2001, the City Council transferred additional property at 1035 S. Washington Avenue to South Fayetteville Community Development Corporation. In October 2005, the City Council also waived the Building Permit Fee and other development fees for the development corporation.

Who bought the two houses? Who sold them in violation of the grant purposes? What was the selling price? Where is Manuel Jones? Who is Donnie Jones? How can the taxpayers get their money back from this corporation that made off with city funds, city property, and special fee waivers? Who was supposed to be keeping up with how our money was spent? Who let it slide when the development corporation did not file the required monthly reports? Who is supposed to be in charge at City Hall? Tim Conklin, Yolanda Fields, and Dan Coody have some explaining to do.