Equity Erased: Buncombe Homeowners Forfeit Years of Equity

Five-part series by Asheville Watchdog results in investigations and legal action.

Part V of a series by Sally Kestin for Asheville Watchdog –

Asheville Watchdog previously reported how Robert Perry Tucker II, who is also an attorney, has taken advantage of the Reconstruction-era partition law and convinced Buncombe homeowners, many of them elderly and/or Black, to sign over properties and forfeit years if not generations of equity.

Lisa Roberts-Allen
Lisa Roberts-Allen

Lisa K. Roberts of Asheville, who calls herself a housing advocate, negotiated some of the deals for Tucker’s companies. Henry, Tucker’s lawyer since at least 2015, represented him in court. Roberts has not responded to repeated messages seeking comment.

Henry’s and Tucker’s association with Attorney Ile Adaramola appears to have started the year after she opened her law practice in 2014. Henry began requesting Adaramola to be auction commissioner on partition sales, resulting in Tucker’s companies buying properties for as little as $2,000. And in 2017, when Henry needed a lawyer to monitor his client communications as a condition to avoid a suspension of his law license, he chose Adaramola.

Attorney Ile Adaramola
Attorney Ile Adaramola

said in a December 2020 interview with Asheville Watchdog that she didn’t recall specifically how the association began.

“I’m a real estate attorney. We generally have section meetings for our organizations,” Adaramola said. “We may have met at a networking event. Like any other client, that’s how generally I’m found.”

Adaramola also represented Lisa Roberts as her attorney, court and property records show.

‘Easily found,’ fiancé says

A guardian ad litem is supposed to be a “disinterested person,” who is appointed by the courts in certain property cases to protect the interests of unknown or unlocatable owners, said Johanna Finkelstein, an assistant court clerk in Buncombe who handles such cases.

“The main thing they try to do is find them,” she said. “Then they should follow up and ensure that the process is going correctly.”

Disinterested means “somebody who doesn’t have a conflict of some sort with any of the parties—in terms of an attorney, they didn’t represent any of the parties in the past,” Finkelstein said. “They can’t have an ownership interest.”

A lawyer is typically appointed “under the theory that attorneys know how to use the various methods to find people,” Finkelstein said. “Sometimes they try real hard and can’t … They have to act as a reasonable, prudent person would.”

Guardians are often selected on the recommendation of the attorneys in the case, she said.

David Shroat. Photo courtesy of Kelly Southerland
David Shroat.
Photo courtesy of Kelly Southerland

Henry was appointed as guardian ad litem to represent the interests of David Shroat, the local cop, in a case brought by Adaramola on behalf of VLM Investments in June 2018. Shroat owned a half-interest in a house in Arden with a tax value of $249,900, and VLM, the owner of the other half, was seeking a partition sale of the property.

Adaramola reported in August 2018 that “due diligence and great efforts were made to locate the whereabouts of the Respondent, consisting of, internet search, White Pages search for recent phone numbers, called family and friends, DMV search, Ancestry.com search, Buncombe County Register of Deeds, Buncombe County Tax Office, and cross referenced addresses with Wells Fargo.”

Shroat’s address was on file at the Buncombe courthouse in a mortgage foreclosure case, Asheville Watchdog found. He was served with a court order in June 2018. Also served with the same document in the same case was Adaramola, the attorney for another party.

And in a 2017 divorce file, also available at the courthouse, Shroat listed his employer as the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office.

Shroat, who had spent 28 years at the Asheville Police Department and 15 at the sheriff’s office, had worked the front desk at the courthouse before retiring in December 2017, personnel records show.

“It is pretty likely that someone who has retired in the past few years would still be in contact with people here and we could provide a phone number or address if needed for a legal matter or urgent concern,” said the sheriff’s spokesman, Aaron Sarver.

Kelly Southerland, Shroat’s fiancé, told Asheville Watchdog Shroat had moved in with her by 2018. Southerland said she left a forwarding address with the sheriff’s office, and Shroat received Social Security and pension-related mail at her house.

“Nobody ever came by here, gave me their card, or told me to get in touch with them,” she said.

Shroat’s sister, Sandra Ashe of South Carolina, said no one contacted her, either.

Adaramola served Shroat through a legal ad in the Asheville Citizen Times, which Shroat’s fiancé said he never saw.

Shroat did not respond in court, and Finkelstein, the clerk, granted Adaramola’s request to put the property up for sale. It sold for $145,000—to Lisa Roberts’s company—and resold within two months for $210,000, according to the deeds.

Shroat received nothing.

The property had been in foreclosure, and the proceeds from the court-ordered partition sale, after fees, went to Wells Fargo, the bank that held two mortgages. A third mortgage—from Tucker’s company—was recorded less than two weeks before the partition action.

Shroat, who is now 74 and has dementia, lives in an assisted living facility in Asheville.

Attorneys’ word taken at ‘face value’

When told about Shroat and the Lydas, Robert N. Hunter Jr., a former judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals who briefly served on the state Supreme Court, said: “Those people need a lawyer to examine the records and examine the evidence and bring a motion in the courts to reconsider the judgments that were entered.

“It’s the job of the reviewing judge or clerk to examine the proofs before him or her to ensure that every effort has been made to locate the person,” Hunter said. “And if subsequently, the person who has not been found discovers that his interest has been sold, he has a right to request redress in the courts.”

In response to questions about the Lyda case, Judge Thornburg told Asheville Watchdog, “Given that court cases and disciplinary proceedings are pending or may arise . . . it is not appropriate for me to comment.”

The North Carolina State Bar is investigating Tucker’s transactions.

Finkelstein, the clerk for the Lyda and Shroat partition cases, said the information Asheville Watchdog uncovered was concerning, but that courts rely on attorneys and guardians to do a thorough job.

“In general we do take at face value what is in the report, what the people did to try and find the individuals,” Finkelstein said. “Sometimes I’ll ask them questions about it if there’s something that makes me wonder.”

“Perfunctory and superficial”

Rick Su, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law, said he was “taken aback by the perfunctory and superficial nature of the proceedings and efforts, especially given what is at stake.”

After reviewing Adaramola’s invoice that showed she spent an hour and a half searching for heirs in the Lyda case, Su said that if Asheville Watchdog was “successful in locating the owners, then it could be argued that the [guardian ad litem’s] efforts were deficient.”

“At best, [Adaramola] is just putting in the bare minimum of effort,” Su said. “At worst, she may not be all that interested in actually locating the real owners.”

Finkelstein said she is no longer appointing Adaramola or Henry as guardians ad litem in cases.

Su said more should be done, such as strengthening North Carolina laws. “There appears to be little in the way of assessing the actual effort of an appointed [guardian ad litem], even if a court cared to appoint someone they believed was capable and motivated.”

Property owners, he said, should be “properly represented, and more than what the current system provides.”

Robert Lyda said it may be too late for his family. “We’ve lost that property, that vista, the connection to our family history.”

The experience, he said, has shaken his faith in the judicial system.

“The judge is dependent upon his fellow officers of the court to bring truthful information. Without that,” Robert Lyda said, “there’s no hope for justice.”

Eddie George’s house in Gary, Indiana.

Indiana man says name was used in Buncombe real estate deals ‘without my knowledge’

On paper, Eddie George was a savvy real estate investor, chairman of VLM Investments LLC that bought and sold nearly $1 million worth of properties in Buncombe County in a little more than a year.

But George, who is 65 and lives in a modest home in Gary, Indiana, alleges he had no knowledge of VLM or its business dealings and did not sign the legal documents bearing his name, according to relatives and a 2018 complaint he filed with the North Carolina Secretary of State.

George is the uncle of Lisa K. Roberts of Asheville, who, as Asheville Watchdog previously reported, has negotiated deals for investor Robert Perry Tucker II to acquire houses and lands from Buncombe homeowners, many of them elderly and/or Black, at far below market rates.

Roberts’s attorney, Ilesanmi “Ile” O. Adaramola of Asheville, was the registered agent for VLM and notarized deeds, mortgages and court cases filed by the company that were purportedly signed by George. By notarizing the documents, Adaramola affirmed that George signed in her presence on eight occasions from July 2017 through August 2018.

But George said in his complaint, dated October 2018, that he was unfamiliar with Adaramola or VLM and that the property transactions in Buncombe “were executed without my knowledge or consent.”

His niece, Erin George—Lisa Roberts’s cousin—told Asheville Watchdog that George “rarely ever leaves the state of Indiana.”

“He is 100 percent certain that he did not sign those documents,” Erin George said.

Adaramola and Roberts did not respond to phone messages and an email request for comment.

Never Received a Response

The Secretary of State investigates violations of North Carolina’s notary public law. Erin George said her uncle never received a response to his complaint.

Tim Crowley, spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office, told Asheville Watchdog Dec. 22 that the 2018 complaint had been “received during the initial stage of a newly created online submittal system.”

“Since this time,” Crowley said, “the Secretary of State’s office has made technology and system improvements.”

However, Erin George said her uncle was unable to submit the complaint electronically and mailed it.

Crowley confirmed Dec. 28 that the complaint “was received and manually scanned into our system. It’s at this point the tip should have been directed in a way that would have elevated its review status instead of being put into a general complaint category.”

The complaint will now be reviewed. “As a practice, we do not confirm whether there is an active investigation or not,” Crowley said.

Series Results in Actions

The Secretary of State has the authority to suspend or revoke a notary’s commission. A notary may be charged criminally with a misdemeanor for administering an oath or affirmation “without the principal appearing in person” or with a felony if “the notary does so with the intent to commit fraud.” It is also a felony to administer an oath or affirmation “if the notary knows it is false or fraudulent.”

The Secretary of State is the fourth government agency to take action on the transactions revealed in Asheville Watchdog’s investigative series, “Equity Erased.”

Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller has assigned a detective to determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted, said sheriff’s spokesman Aaron Sarver.

The North Carolina Attorney General’s consumer protection division is investigating, said spokeswoman Laura Brewer. She declined to provide any details. According to the Attorney General’s website, the consumer protection division fights “unfair business practices like scams and frauds” and helps consumers recoup losses.

The North Carolina State Bar is investigating transactions involving Robert Tucker, who is also an attorney, according to court testimony in one case and sources who said they’ve been questioned about two others.

Roberts’s grandmother, Vera Lee Morris.
Roberts’s grandmother, Vera Lee Morris.

In a grandmother’s name

Lisa Roberts’s father, Freddie, who died in 2006, was Eddie George’s brother. Eddie George has no children and is close to his nieces and nephews, Erin George said.

“He’s very much into his family, very trusting,” she said. “Knowing that someone was willing to exploit him in this manner, for him, is more than hurtful.”

VLM were the initials of Roberts’s grandmother, Vera Lee Morris. “I think this is what adds insult to injury,” Erin George said.

After being contacted by Asheville Watchdog in December, Eddie George’s family consulted an attorney, who advised him not to comment, Erin George said. “We’re trying to make decisions on who do we go to?” she said. “We have to figure out what level of authorities that we need to contact.”

VLM was formed in March 2017 with Eddie George as “member/organizer” and Adaramola as the registered agent. A 2018 annual report filed with the North Carolina Secretary of State lists George as chairman at his address in Gary, Ind, an 822-square-foot home assessed at $32,500.

“The Articles of Organization document was not signed by me, nor am I familiar with the person that is listed as the registered agent of the Company (Ile Adaramola),” George wrote in his complaint to the Secretary of State. The annual report “was also submitted and filed without my knowledge or consent, nor did I electronically sign this document.”

George also wrote that VLM’s property sales in Buncombe in 2017 and 2018 “were executed without my knowledge or consent.”

Roberts, who also uses the name Lisa Roberts-Allen, notarized four deeds to VLM, and some of the company’s funding appears to have come from one of Robert Tucker’s companies. VLM took out two deeds of trust, similar to mortgages, from Tucker’s company totaling $315,000; both loans are purportedly signed by George and notarized by Adaramola.

‘We never signed in front of anybody’

VLM’s first property purchase in June 2017 arose from the estate of Barbara Jones, who owned a house in Black Mountain with a tax value of $157,600. A bank had recently initiated a substitution of trustee, the first public filing in a foreclosure, on an $86,000 mortgage Jones had taken out in 2003.

Jones’s daughter, Cynthia Pierce, said Roberts came to her home in Marion, east of Asheville, with papers that included an unexecuted deed to VLM for her mother’s property.

“They told me if I didn’t sign the paperwork over, I would be responsible for all of her bills,” Pierce told Asheville Watchdog. Children are generally not responsible for the debts of a parent who has died.

Pierce’s brother, Henry Jones, and his wife, Tonya, also of Marion, said they understood from Roberts that the debt on the house was higher than its value. “It was just a far-fetched amount that we were like, there’s no way we could pay on it or do anything with it,” Tonya Jones said.

When shown the deed recorded in her name, Pierce said the first and last name appeared to be her signature, but the middle initial looked as though it was added in. “I don’t write my J’s like that,” she said. “I always write a cursive J.”

Pierce and Henry Jones said they signed paperwork at Pierce’s house in McDowell County with no notary present. The deed, notarized by Adaramola, certified that Pierce and Jones “personally appeared before” her and signed the document.

“I was in Marion,” Pierce said. “We didn’t even go to Asheville.”

Tonya Jones said Roberts later said she needed another deed that included her signature since the first one mistakenly referred to Henry Jones as unmarried. Pierce and Henry Jones again signed in Marion, they said, and Roberts dropped off the new deed for Tonya Jones at her workplace in Asheville, where she said she signed it. That deed is also notarized by Adaramola, affirming that Pierce, Henry, and Tonya Jones signed in her presence.

“We never signed in front of anybody,” Tonya Jones said.

The family said they did not receive any money from the sale of their mother’s property and did not know what became of it. Henry Jones said he thought VLM was going to “give it over to low-income housing … for people that needed a home.”

Deeds indicate VLM purchased the property for $91,000 and sold it a month later for $130,000.

Asheville Watchdog previously reported on another transaction by VLM. The company purchased a half-interest in an Arden property and filed a court action against the other owner, David Shroat, to force a sale of the property.

Peter R. Henry, an Arden attorney who is Robert Tucker’s lawyer, was appointed as a neutral guardian ad litem to represent Shroat’s interests. Henry and Adaramola reported in court that Shroat could not be located. He’d been a local cop for decades and had recently retired from the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office at the courthouse where the case was filed. Asheville Watchdog located Shroat’s fiancé and Shroat, who is now 74 and in an assisted living facility.

With no response from Shroat, the property was sold at a court-ordered sale to Asheville Home Funding, whose president is Roberts, for $145,000. It resold within two months for $210,000, the deed indicates.

VLM bought two other properties, records show, including one from a widower in Asheville’s Grove Park neighborhood for $180,000 that the company sold in a month for $320,000, deeds indicate. That sale was reported by Buncombe County’s Adult Protective Services to the Asheville Police Department for possible fraud, but no charges were filed.

In the other transaction, VLM bought a half-interest in a Black Mountain property for $3,000, according to the deed, and then filed a court action against the other owner to force a sale of the property. The second owner then signed over his interest to VLM, also for $3,000, and VLM sold the property a month later for $110,000, deeds indicate.

In all, signatures purporting to be Eddie George’s appear on four deeds, two mortgages and two court actions initiated by VLM, all notarized by Adaramola.

Asheville Watchdog “uncovered so much more damage than I even knew about, which has me just fuming,” Erin George said. “When you’re talking about someone unknowingly having mortgages taken out in their name, having their names signed to deeds and especially knowing that it potentially has caused people some real hurt and pain, it’s a lot to take in.”

A family confrontation

Eddie George first became aware of VLM in 2018 and asked Erin to look into it, she said. She said she confronted Roberts but declined to reveal what Roberts said or how her uncle learned of VLM.

The last public document VLM filed in Buncombe—a mortgage satisfaction from Robert Tucker—was on Nov. 30, 2018, a month after Eddie George submitted his complaint to the Secretary of State.

Erin George said she followed up with two phone calls to the Secretary of State’s office. “At least on one of those calls, there was acknowledgement of receiving it,” she said. “It just continues to infuriate me because they had the information right in front of them.”

Roberts continued negotiating property deals to Tucker’s companies, including one in 2020 from a Swannanoa minister who said he didn’t know he was signing a deed selling his family’s South Asheville house for just $500. That case resulted in a court finding the deed was obtained by fraud.

The transactions under Eddie George’s name may have stopped, Erin George said, but other homeowners continued “to be victimized” after the Secretary of State “overlooked the complaint.”

Her uncle is disabled, Erin George said. She declined to elaborate but said “he only has so much mobility.” Yet according to documents notarized by Adaramola, Eddie George was in Buncombe County eight times in 2017 and 2018.

“He doesn’t really travel anywhere,” Erin George said. “There’s no possible way he could have signed all of the documents.”

Kathy Waites
Kathy Waites

Her brother, Nate, said the family’s primary concern is protecting Eddie George. But after reading Asheville Watchdog’s investigative series, “Equity Erased,” he said, “We do recognize that there are people being taken advantage of, and we would like to see that stopped.”

Series Update

Kathy Waites will get to keep the West Asheville home that’s been in her family for three generations, after reaching a legal settlement with Asheville real estate investor, Robert Perry Tucker II, who acquired a half-interest in the house for just $3,000. Waites credited Asheville Watchdog’s year-long investigation of Tucker’s real estate deals with helping her save her home.

Becky Tin contributed to this report.

 

Read Part I: Equity Erased – Real estate deals strip elderly and poor people of their homes, land, and inheritances.

Read Part II: Equity Erased – Forced Sales Hurt Heirs, Poor Homeowners.

Read Part III: Equity Erased: NC’s Partition Law Easily Exploited.

Read Part IV: Equity Erased: Exploiting the Partition System and Property Owners.


Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Sally Kestin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. Becky Tin is a retired district court judge and lawyer. Email [email protected].
Asheville Watchdog gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Duke University School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, with special thanks to Zane Martin and Danielle Siegel.