Tucson woman accused of gambling away $5M in embezzled funds

Tucson woman accused of gambling away $5M in embezzled funds | Crime and courts | tucson.com

Tucson bookkeeper has been indicted for allegedly embezzling $5.3M from two local construction companies and from an HOA in Mexico.


Helen Marie Dahlstrom is accused of gambling away the stolen money at Tucson-area casinos.

She was a longtime employee of Lauderbach Builders Supply and L&L Manufactured Components and served as the treasurer for her Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico-based homeowners’ association Asociacion De Regularizacion De Vecinos De La Cholla (Cholla Bay HOA), according to a news release from the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

The embezzlement of over $5 million is said to have occurred between September 2013 and July 2020 by writing checks made out to cash, the indictment says.
Dahlstrom is charged with multiple counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, theft, computer tampering, forgery and money laundering.


Helen Marie Dahlstrom
Courtesy Arizona Attorney General's Office

That thief, took $170K from the Cholla Bay HOA, and in the process has divided the Cholla community where
it's sometimes hard to even have a conversation with your neighbors.
This is because there are those who still support
the HOA, those who want to dismantle it and start over and many just don't care about the Cholla community.

The Cholla HOA is currently collecting the $150 HOA fee from less than 50% of the homeowners and $$ for the
community services the HOA pays for will run out during the next 2 years and services will be cut.

The Cholla HOA is not like most HOA's where your home will have a lien on it for non payment. It's more
of a club that pay's for the services that Cholla Bay uses and many people will not pay for the services provided.

I am a Cholla homeowner and am not thrilled with any of this, but still pay my dues, because I use the services provided.

150 a month? Water , security includes? She must be a terrible gambler!

$150 a year. I am still paying because there are a lot of things the new folks take for granted. If she hadn’t taken all that money, we would probably be on the way to having water piped to our homes. It is not much money, yet if everyone pitched in, a lot of good benefits could be realized. I’ve been going to Cholla since 81, and appreciate the improvements.

I’m glad our association has a treasurer, an independent outside bookkeeper and a consulting accountant. Every cent is accounted for by multiple people.

Old55 said:

150 a month? Water , security includes? She must be a terrible gambler!

That's $150 per year, from that the HOA pays for Police patrols, road maintenance, Up-keep of the Cholla park and club house.
Porta Potties for some of the beach areas and access to the water pipe for the water trucks to fill from to deliver water to the Cholla homes.
Probably a few other services I didn't list. We sure wish the HOA wasn't run by a group of friends who left access to the funds
without any/much supervision for the thief to steal.

brokenwave said:

That's $150 per year, from that the HOA pays for Police patrols, road maintenance, Up-keep of the Cholla park and club house.
Porta Potties for some of the beach areas and access to the water pipe for the water trucks to fill from to deliver water to the Cholla homes.
Probably a few other services I didn't list. We sure wish the HOA wasn't run by a group of friends who left access to the funds
without any/much supervision for the thief to steal.

Does she own property in Mexico that could potentially be seized? Was there any officers and directors insurance? Are the same individuals still running the HOA?

Idyllwild said:

Does she own property in Mexico that could potentially be seized? Was there any officers and directors insurance? Are the same individuals still running the HOA?

She and her hubby own a home in Cholla, I don't know if the HOA can take it. I doubt there was insurance.
The president and a few other officers are still the same.

In late April there is an election to possibly replace the president and another position.
We'll see if some fresh people can get this right. It's a cluster now, with a faction of about 125 people
who want to disband the current HOA and start fresh, but I question the motives of some of these new people
because there's $100K left in the HOA funds.
$$ does crazy things to people.

brokenwave said:

She and her hubby own a home in Cholla, I don't know if the HOA can take it. I doubt there was insurance.
The president and a few other officers are still the same.

In late April there is an election to possibly replace the president and another position.
We'll see if some fresh people can get this right. It's a cluster now, with a faction of about 125 people
who want to disband the current HOA and start fresh, but I question the motives of some of these new people
because there's $100K left in the HOA funds.
$$ does crazy things to people.

Based on the advertised sale prices of beachfront properties in Cholla $100 K is chicken feed, and so is the $170 K that stolen. When we were looking I went inside 8 or 10 homes with sale prices above $400 K. There is easily $50 M in property values in the HOA, and probably more. Homeowners with equity in Cholla need to take control of the Board, sue the indicted former Treasurer in the US and/or Mexico, determine whether an insurance tender is possible, and exercise a fiduciary responsibility for the benefit of owners. The risks you outlined easily translate into a 10% loss in property resale values. That’s $5M in depreciation, and probably more. Everyone with a home worth over $250K should get in line with a check for up to $10K right away to make the HOA solvent. This needs to be fixed urgently. Maybe business owners want to get involved too. Loosing access to water would not be good for anyone.


edited to add: The total property value in Cholla is probably closer to $150 M.

This article

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2022-03-21/tucson-bookkeeper-accused-of-embezzling-5m-from-businesses

says she embezzled $360 K from the HOA. The story is in other publications as well.

That $360K number has been reported possibly incorrectly. Since the HOA in Cholla doesn't have the typical CCR's or any
as real HOA's, The homeowners are probably not in a position to sue the officers.

Cholla is a different animal, you would be surprised at how many people living in $200k-$1 million homes won't pay
their property taxes, pay for garbage pick-up, pay the $150 annual dues for the HOA before the theft, because it's so easy not to pay.
The HOA can't put a lien on a home for not paying the HOA dues.
So people lining up to pay $10 much less $10K, will probably never happen.
So to sum it up, the Cholla HOA isn't a real HOA more of a community club to pay for needed services.

The theft was a wake-up call and now the people running the HOA are doing things like they should have been before.
Sadly it's too late because many don't trust anything associated with the current regime, too much hate
and now we have a very divided community.

A number of media outlets are quoting the indictment that the amount taken from the HOA was $360 K. Google Helen Marie Dahlstrom and select news stories.

If she put it on a bitcoin bet she would have around 100,000,000 dollars

Idyllwild, you seem to be a well studied individual, and always nice to hear possible solutions rather than the relentless complaints of the obvious. But brokenwave has really got it spelled out pretty clearly. The non-payment of services that he is referring to are correct, and the transition from a community club to a HOA is all to real. But much of that distain can be contributed to property and deed transfers that dogged this community for too long. Homeowner were not about to dump more money into these services when the basic ownership rights still fluttered in the wind. I lived it, it took us over 13 years to get this done on a 200 sq./ft. shack we needed for parking. And don't get me started on the property line issue.

No doubt the theft was a wake up call for the HOA, but you've still have to consider that she also stole from two US based corporations that one would think to have better safeguards against employee embezzlement by way of paid administrators, and paid CPA's. Not sure what the board of the Cholla Bay HOA gets paid, but I'm guessing it doesn't match that of the other companies she stole from. And like b-wave said, the only thing flourishing in Cholla now is animosity.

Bob Oso said:

Idyllwild, you seem to be a well studied individual, and always nice to hear possible solutions rather than the relentless complaints of the obvious. But brokenwave has really got it spelled out pretty clearly. The non-payment of services that he is referring to are correct, and the transition from a community club to a HOA is all to real. But much of that distain can be contributed to property and deed transfers that dogged this community for too long. Homeowner were not about to dump more money into these services when the basic ownership rights still fluttered in the wind. I lived it, it took us over 13 years to get this done on a 200 sq./ft. shack we needed for parking. And don't get me started on the property line issue.

No doubt the theft was a wake up call for the HOA, but you've still have to consider that she also stole from two US based corporations that one would think to have better safeguards against employee embezzlement by way of paid administrators, and paid CPA's. Not sure what the board of the Cholla Bay HOA gets paid, but I'm guessing it doesn't match that of the other companies she stole from. And like b-wave said, the only thing flourishing in Cholla now is animosity.

Presumably the HOA Board was paid exactly zero, the same as US HOA Boards. By the way, I was President of two CA HOA Boards, one with 270 homes that had average valuations of a million dollars fifteen years ago — twice that now, as well as high profile litigation issues. The essential duty of a Board Officer is his or her fiduciary responsibility to protect the property value and safety of the members.

The choice the Cholla HOA faces is clear: either dwell on past injustices and suffer the consequences of infighting and deteriorating shared resources, or put the past aside and move forward. At some point nearly all of you will want to sell your properties, and for those who don’t, your heirs will sell them after probate. The litany of lost resources, access to water, police security, park space, sanitation at beaches, attested to in this thread, is certain to adversely affect resale values. This couldn’t happen to you at a worse time, with newer developments springing up all over town. Las Conches took a hit over their association dysfunction and consequent loss of the security gate. People don’t like to buy into communities that are engaged in internal strife.

So, the bottom line is if you like fighting and failure, knock yourselves out. It will only help property values elsewhere. There are always going to be free riders, and even when I looked closely at Cholla only 70% were paying HOA dues. But if 100 homeowners wanted to protect their investments from $20 K to $50 K loss of value each, and they could do it by each contributing $5 K, it would be a no brainer. This is economics, not high school. Mailing the house keys to the bank isn’t an option. So stand up and fix your problems, or not.

I think you're a little over your ski's in you assessment of Cholla Bay. It wouldn't be so bad if you weren't so contemptuous with your off the cuff analysis.

Careful...He might block you.

Bob Oso said:

I think you're a little over your ski's in you assessment of Cholla Bay. It wouldn't be so bad if you weren't so contemptuous with your off the cuff analysis.

Bob:

Anyone considering a real estate purchase is going to make “an off the cuff analysis” before buying. Mine is probably better than most as I’ve bought and sold more homes than most, and I seriously considered Cholla Bay, which I still fell has a unique southern Mediterranean vibe. I just read your most recent 3 or 4 HOA newsletters which are up on your website. I’ve never seen anything like this before, with personal attacks coming from the board, and implied allegations of improprieties. I’m usually not on Facebook, but there is some pretty tough stuff on your community page. It is indeed as bad as Brokenwave said above. Actually worse.

It could indeed be impossible for your community to move forward with the current association, or at least some of the present board members. But I’m going to double down on my essential analysis. A large group of invested homeowners need to raise some funds and provide essential services to ensure a functioning community and protect resale values. I’m sure most of you hoped your purchase in Cholla would be an investment, and you need to act decisively to protect that investment.

Best of luck to you. (And by the way I last skied on Friday, in Snowbowl, and I don’t get over my skis).

Sorry, I can't figure how to delete this post

Back space your reply and it goes away.

Idyllwild said:

Bob:

Anyone considering a real estate purchase is going to make “an off the cuff analysis” before buying. Mine is probably better than most as I’ve bought and sold more homes than most, and I seriously considered Cholla Bay, which I still fell has a unique southern Mediterranean vibe. I just read your most recent 3 or 4 HOA newsletters which are up on your website. I’ve never seen anything like this before, with personal attacks coming from the board, and implied allegations of improprieties. I’m usually not on Facebook, but there is some pretty tough stuff on your community page. It is indeed as bad as Brokenwave said above. Actually worse.

It could indeed be impossible for your community to move forward with the current association, or at least some of the present board members. But I’m going to double down on my essential analysis. A large group of invested homeowners need to raise some funds and provide essential services to ensure a functioning community and protect resale values. I’m sure most of you hoped your purchase in Cholla would be an investment, and you need to act decisively to protect that investment.

Best of luck to you. (And by the way I last skied on Friday, in Snowbowl, and I don’t get over my skis).

As I stated Cholla is a different animal from many communities. It grew from a collection of fishing shacks in the 50's into what it
is today. I built in 1988 and it was much different than today. Back then it was a fairly peaceful community, with the exception
of the anti-Brown group, who contested the fact that the Brown family owned the land here in Cholla and most of Sandy beach.

During the past 15-20 years as many Cholla originals passed away or sold out, new people came in and discovered how cheap
it was to have a place near or on the water without any real rules.
As the new people discovered Cholla there were many with $$ to splurge on a vacation or retirement homes and many built homes
much nicer than what was here already. Cholla didn't see a custom designed home until approx. the early 2000's after that many
new homes were built on the water front lots for 50-60% of what a place in Las Concha's would cost.

The difference is much closer now because people discovered Cholla is a great place to live.

The HOA and the theft has divided Cholla, where 300-350ish people are OKish with the current HOA issues and all.
Then there are approx. 130ish people who hate the HOA calling them thief's and liars and want to start all over.
From what I've have seen much is based on hearsay with lot's of mud slinging.

Cholla is made up of lot's of really nice places, $350K-$1 million+ homes and then you have hundreds of
places between $100K-$350k and many more that are abandoned or seldom used in major need or repair.
With that you have the many different attitudes that come with this various diversity and then you have the investors
with another mindset.

For me personally, I'm OK with whoever is in charge as long, as what I am paying for with my HOA dues is supplied to
the community.
When the new President takes over (the current Pres is done) and other board members come in
hopefully an audit is done and if there is any truth to the rumors, that there was any other wrong doings found,
then the previous board members responsible should be made accountable. Good luck with that!!

Since there is close to $200K in cash the HOA has in the bank (not the $100K I said before) that is a tempting
sum for people to get their fingers on, especially here in Mexico where the rules are just different vs the USA.

If Cholla were able to actually start a real HOA with some not crazy rules, that would be great to protect the homes we
have. It was tried in the past and never even came close to getting passed, so the attitude here is rules we don't like any
stinking rules. Cholla is still like the old west.

Brokenwave:

Keeping the existing HOA with fresh leadership is by far the most efficient path forward. Some current Board members might consider stepping down as part of the healing and moving forward process. My community in Flagstaff recently went through the creation of a road district to pave and maintain our roads, which have actual craters on them. A vocal minority opposed the creation of anything similar to an HOA, and the imposition of any form of taxation to pay for the improvements. One even sold his house and moved to Idaho. I’ve paid a few hundred dollars for the initial legal and engineering work, and I’ll pay about $600 a year toward the improvement bond for some years. Chicken feed compared to doing semiannual alignments on the vehicles, and we’ll probably see an immediate 15% increase in resale values. Emergency vehicles will have better and faster access to our community. Insurance rates might go down. A special needs child in the community will be picked up and dropped off at his residence instead of by the highway. Some people in the neighborhood don’t like each other. So what. Everyone benefits for a modest cost.

An HOA should only have enough money on hand to meet short term expenses and fund a reserve. A large HOA in the US would calculate reserves based in the infrastructure that might need to be replaced or repaired in the next five years or so, and reserves would typically be funded at less than 100%, typically between 30 and 70%. Cholla owns almost no infrastructure, so it’s not clear why your HOA had ca. $400 K on hand. Maybe consider putting some tangible improvements in place and spending down the money on hand. A way to deal with free riders is to provide services to owners who are current on obligations. If you bring water in every served residence is going to need a water meter and an account with the HOA. If you pave streets, you might elect to pave streets or segments of streets with higher levels of participation.

Three years ago, when I was looking in Cholla, there was almost always a police presence at the entrance to the community. My realtor, the late Brian Hefferman, a Cholla resident, told me that the HOA had paid for a police car. The last half dozen times I’ve been to Xochitl‘s for breakfast there has been no sign of the police. If that has been suspended it might be a good idea to bring it back.

Lastly, the discrepancy between the sums taken, $170 K vs $360 K, appears to reflect the perpetrator’s tactic of moving money between the three entities she was stealing from in order to hide her crimes. I’m doing so, she stole each dollar on more than one occasion.

Regards