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Home My WebLink AboutPRR24245 Akelian1 Wooten, Eric From:Aaron Schwarzkopf <aschwarzkopf@adamsstirling.com> Sent:Tuesday, March 2, 2021 1:14 PM To:John Mudge; Benedetti, Luca Subject:RE: [EXT]Chumash Village HOA and Mr. Richardson Thanks John. I assume this means Young, Craig, & Co. confirmed there was no issue with sharing this documentation with the detective. Did the accounting firm explain what “audit documentation” is considered confidential? Best regards, Aaron Schwarzkopf, Esq. ADAMS | STIRLING PLC 2566 Overland Avenue | Suite 730 | Los Angeles, CA 90064 (424) 370-0250 (800) 464-2817 | toll free AS website | bio | vCard | email | sendfile | LinkedIn | DS website California's Premier Law Firm Dedicated to Residential and Commercial Associations LOS ANGELES | ORANGE COUNTY | PALM DESERT | SACRAMENTO | SAN DIEGO | SAN FRANCISCO | SAN JOSE | SAN LUIS OBISPO | STOCKTON | TEMECULA From: John Mudge <john@chumashvillage.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 2, 2021 10:43 AM To: Benedetti, Luca <lbenedet@slocity.org> Subject: Re: [EXT]Chumash Village HOA and Mr. Richardson Det. Benedetti, Thank you for your reply last week. Attached below are the reports and associated information from the 2017 Audit we had the Audit firm (Young, Craig and Company) perform. If there is any additional supporting information you might need, please let me know. Thank you again for your help on this matter. On Wed, Feb 24, 2021 at 2:11 PM Benedetti, Luca <lbenedet@slocity.org> wrote: Mr. Mudge, 2 Thank you for reaching out. I would appreciate being able to have a copy of the 2017 audit and any statements that may be associated. I already have some which were given to Mr. Richardson however there are some which are missing. I believe this may have added to Mr. Richardson’s concern regarding embezzlement. Once I have the documents required to gain a complete picture regarding Mr. Richardson’s concerns, I will hopefully be able to put him at ease and help mitigate future accusations or concerns he may have about that year’s financial records. While a letter is not common practice for us to give out at the end of an investigation I don’t see any problem with an email to you for your records regarding any of my findings. Luca Benedetti Detective Police Department 1042 Walnut Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-2729 E lbenedetti@slocity.org T 805.594.8060 slocity.org Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications For updates on COVID-19 and how to access City services during COVID, visit slocity.org/covid19 This e-mail, and any files transmitted with it, are intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential, protected, and/or privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient, is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. 3 From: John Mudge <john@chumashvillage.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2021 9:05 AM To: Eric D. Vitale <evitale@co.slo.ca.us> Cc: Benedetti, Luca <lbenedet@slocity.org>; Terry O'Farrell <tofarrell@co.slo.ca.us> Subject: Re: [EXT]Chumash Village HOA and Mr. Richardson This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond. Mr. Vitale, Thank you for your response and your time. On Wed, Feb 24, 2021 at 8:54 AM Eric D. Vitale <evitale@co.slo.ca.us> wrote: Mr. Mudge, This matter has not been sent to the District Attorney’s Office for any type of review or request for a criminal complaint. I assure you, Detective Benedetti is conducting an objective and thorough investigation. The Office of the District Attorney would only get involved under two circumstances; first is if SLOPD requested our assistance with the investigation the last is if SLOPD requests review for the filing of criminal charges. Neither have occurred at this time. I see you included Detective Benedetti in your email and I am confident this matter will be fully investigated with an appropriate resolution. Eric Vitale Investigator Office of the District Attorney San Luis Obispo County 1035 Palm Street, 4th Floor San Luis Obispo California 93405 4 (805) 781-5868 direct From: John Mudge <john@chumashvillage.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2021 8:06 AM To: Eric D. Vitale <evitale@co.slo.ca.us>; lbenedetti@slocity.org Cc: Board Members <Board@chumashvillage.com> Subject: [EXT]Chumash Village HOA and Mr. Richardson ATTENTION: This email originated from outside the County's network. Use caution when opening attachments or links. Dear Mr. Vitale and Det. Benedetti, My name is John Mudge and I have served as the general manager for the Chumash Village HOA for the past three years. As you know one of our members (Bill Richardson) has accused the HOA of embezzling funds in the past. Given that the HOA is a nonprofit organization established to serve senior citizens (many of whom are on fixed incomes), we take accusations like the one Mr. Richardson is making very seriously. As part of that, we extensively investigated Mr. Richardson’s accusations. Among other things, that investigation included having an independent accounting firm specializing in HOAs conduct a full audit for 2017 (the year the embezzlement in question allegedly took place) which found no financial improprieties. In addition, the HOA has repeatedly tried to sit down with Mr. Richardson to discuss his allegations in the hopes of relieving his concerns. Furthermore, the HOA has implemented the recommendations of the auditor in the interest of promoting transparency and ensuring all residents are confident in the management of the HOA’s finances. Among other things, this has included reconciling the HOA’s accounts on a quarterly basis, updating its accounting processes, establishing new accounting procedures, and adding staff. Despite these best efforts, however, Mr. Richardson unfortunately continues to claim that embezzlement has taken place. In furtherance of that, please let me know if you would like copies of the 2017 audit. Please also let me know if the HOA can be of further assistance on this matter (though please understand that we are generally limited in the information we can voluntarily provide to non-owners.) We are hopeful that these efforts will help your investigation demonstrate to Mr. Richardson once and for all that he has nothing to worry about here. Once the investigation is complete, would it be possible for you to provide a letter or email confirming your findings? If so, I would greatly appreciate you sending that to me for the HOA’s records. Thank you very much and please let me know if you have any questions. 5 -- Best Regards, John J. Mudge, CCAM, CAFM Certified Community Association and Financial Manager Best Teams Management john@chumashvillage.com Cell ( -- Best Regards, John J. Mudge, CCAM, CAFM Certified Community Association and Financial Manager Best Teams Management john@chumashvillage.com Cell ( -- Best Regards, John J. Mudge, CCAM, CAFM Certified Community Association and Financial Manager Best Teams Management john@chumashvillage.com 6 Cell (