November 11th 2023.
Grace Smith and her husband, a retired Navy veteran, had exciting plans for their future when they purchased a condo in Atlanta’s Camelot Condo complex in 2019. Little did they know, their plans would be thrown into disarray just a few months later.
In January 2020, the complex was destroyed by a fire, leaving the Smiths and 23 other families displaced. In a phone interview with WSB TV, Smith said that she and her husband were told the HOA decided not to rebuild, and they would receive $45,000 in insurance money for their unit. However, they never received payment. Smith lamented, “these were his retirement funds we invested. No income, no condo – nothing.”
The Smiths contacted the Fulton County District Attorney’s office to investigate Camelot’s Homeowners Association, which led to a startling discovery. When police subpoenaed the HOA’s bank records, they found that the HOA had received $1.5 million in insurance payments in 2020. Furthermore, former Camelot HOA President Bettye Ligon and treasurer Lyndon Baldwin Sr. were writing checks to themselves.
On Nov. 2, City Officials announced that they had warrants against Ligon and Baldwin, who were charged with theft by conversion and theft by taking. In response, two state representatives are trying to help the Smiths and other condo owners get the money owed to them, and are additionally writing legislation to prevent this from happening again.
On Nov. 4, District 5′s Kalvin Bennett hosted “The Forum at Camelot,” inviting residents to discuss the developing case and to propose ongoing solutions. South Fulton County Police Chief Keith Meadows also noted that they anticipate making more arrests in this case. He urged any residents whose unit was destroyed and did not receive insurance funds to contact Lieutenant Ebony Bullock South from the South Fulton Police Department at 470-440-9681.
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