Top
Bear Fire Victims defrauded by Oregon home dealers
Bonnie and Alec Blumenthal of Jones Valley, who lost their home on Bollibokka Way to the Bear Fire last August, watch wistfully as people in their subdivision move into new manufactured or “stick” houses. They try not to dwell on the fact that they have been victimized three times—first by William Rupp, who has been charged with starting the fire by mowing dry grass in a rocky field on a hot, windy afternoon; then by the Small Business Administration, which first denied then finally approved their loan; and most recently by the owners of Alpine Mountain Homes, Inc. of Medford, Oregon, the manufactured home dealers who absconded with the Blumenthal’s deposit and filed for bankruptcy.
Bonnie Blumenthal said she first became aware that something was wrong when she attempted to contact Alpine Mountain Homes in Medford by phone on May 18, 2005 to tell them that their Small Business Administration loan had come through, and they were ready to make a down payment on their home. Ironically, it was their anniversary, and she was hopeful that at long last, they, too, would soon have a brand new home sitting on their hillside lot. No one answered the office phone at Alpine and all the voice mailboxes were full, so she could not leave a message. She next called the company’s branch office in White City, Oregon and left a message on the answering machine. No one called her back.
A short while later, Blumenthal called Fleetwood Homes Pacific Northwest Sales office in Woodburn, Oregon, where the manager Kevin McShane advised her that Alpine had closed down three weeks previous. He also told her that she was not the first person who had called him about the now-defunct company.
Court documents in a lawsuit filed by Oregon’s Attorney General against the officers and managers of Alpine Mountain Homes, Inc.—Gary A. Waggoner, Brad M. Blanchard, and Deborah A. Blanchard--indicate that the business closed its doors on April 19, 2005 and filed for bankruptcy on May 20. The lawsuit alleges that Waggoner as the corporation’s president and the Blanchards as the managers of the business had violated both the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act and the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act. Attorney General Hardy Myers also filed a restraining order to prevent the above defendants from destroying company records, disposing of assets, or working in the industry.
The Attorney General’s complaint alleges that from April 2003 to April 2005 the defendants accepted monies from consumers in the form of down-payments, partial payments, or payment in full for manufactured homes but failed to deliver the homes. “We were lucky,” Alec Blumenthal said grimly. “We only lost $1,000. Several people had paid in full for houses they never got.” The complaint listed 18 customers with losses ranging from $100 to $80,000 for a total of over $400,000. It also alleges that Alpine Mountain Homes failed to repay over $300,000 to a Massachusetts finance company, which provided them with construction loans. That company, Bombardier Capital, Inc., has filed a lawsuit against Alpine and Waggoner.
A July 6 letter to the Blumenthals from a representative of the Oregon Department of Justice informed them that on June 20, a Jackson County judge had ruled that the State had insufficient evidence of direct involvement by Waggoner and freed him from the restrictions of the restraining order. “At the moment, Mr. Waggoner is free to spend his money and sell his house,” the letter says, but adds that the DOJ is still investigating Waggoner’s involvement.
The letter also stated that the Blanchards had accepted a settlement in which they agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $33,000, which the letter characterized as “the bulk of what they had.” The DOJ indicated that it planned to divide up the limited sum among the consumers who lost $10,000 or more. “We know we won’t get our money back,” Bonnie Blumenthal said. “We just want to see justice done, and so far, no one has gone to jail for this.”
The Blumenthals said that they were continuing to deal with Fleetwood Homes Oregon office, which had put them in touch with a dealer in Red Bluff. “Fleetwood has been helpful all along,” Bonnie said. “They have been trying to take care of us.”
The Blumenthal’s latest worry is that they have lost so much time attempting to deal with Alpine that they will exceed the funding disbursement deadlines set by the SBA and their insurance company. As of our interview date, however, they had contacted both agencies and found personnel there sympathetic to their plight and willing to grant them the necessary extensions. “This has been a nightmare for us,” Bonnie said. “We just want to wake up and be able to move into our new home.”
