DENVER — CBZ Management, the property management company that claimed a Venezuelan gang takeover prevented it from taking care of its Aurora properties, filed a lawsuit against the Colorado Attorney General's Office amid an investigation by the AG's office.
The attorney general’s office launched an investigation into CBZ Management to determine if the company broke state consumer protection and safe housing laws. A set of subpoenas, issued in September and obtained by Denver7 through an open records request, seeks a laundry list of documents from CBZ Management and several of its subsidiaries. The AG’s office was seeking documents related to the advertising, leasing and managing apartment units, communication with tenants and the handling of and response to requests for maintenance, among other things.
CBZ Management is based in New York and operates 11 Colorado properties. Five of the company’s LLCs that manage properties in Colorado were issued the subpoenas.
The LLCs were also asked to provide documentation of their communication with, and relationship to, Zev Baumgarten, the CBZ owner who was allegedly beaten inside one of the company’s complexes.
Through its lawsuit, CBZ Management and the LLCs are asking a Denver County judge to quash the subpoenas.
The plaintiffs claim the attorney general’s office has not explained why it believes CBZ Management and the other companies may have violated state law. They also raised concerns about information obtained through the subpoenas being publicly released.
Aurora
Colo. AG investigating Aurora apartment owners in Venezuelan gang controversy
CBZ Management claimed its apartment complexes in Aurora were taken over by the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. The company said it could not address maintenance and other issues at its properties due to safety concerns.
Those claims were then amplified by President-elect Donald Trump during his presidential campaign.
The City of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department said while there were problems, gang members did not take over the apartment complexes. Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman referred to the property owner as an “out-of-state slumlord.”
The City of Aurora closed CBZ Management's apartment complex on Nome Street in August. A judge appointed a third-party caretaker to oversee two of the other apartment complexes, Whispering Pines and 200 Columbia. A fourth apartment complex, the Edge of Lowry, will close as part of a settlement with the city.
Aurora
Organized crime expert explains challenges of identifying Tren de Aragua members
The holiday decorations outside the Courtyard on Vine might make it seem like everything is merry and bright, but Natasha Bar Shalom said it’s anything but that.
“It’s really heartbreaking and it’s scary,” said Bar Shalom about what she and her neighbors have been going through.
She moved to the apartments at 1399 Vine Street in Denver in July. Since then, Bar Shalom has had to deal with several issues, including a ceiling that caved in on her bathtub. She said the property management is nowhere to be found.
“They have completely abandoned our property. Like, no one can get a hold of them,” said Bar Shalom.
The company that runs the property, 1399 Vine Partners LLC, is part of CBZ Management and is included in the lawsuit against the AG's office.
Bar Shalom said CBZ Management's lawsuit makes them look more suspicious.
“If you don't have anything to hide, and you're not breaking the law and you're doing your job the way you're supposed to, you're going to turn over the information that the attorney general is asking for,” she said.
Bar Shalom believes it’s only a matter of time before her apartment building is closed.
“There's only six of us left here,” she said
It was the tenants who put up the holiday decorations at the apartment complex, according to Bar Shalom.
“And now I feel like I have to continue speaking up because, again, I stand for what's right, but that means I'm now going to be put in a position to be houseless here soon,” she said. “Because it's only a matter of time that this place is going to be shut down.”
Attorneys for CBZ Management and the involved companies did not respond to Denver7’s request for comment about the lawsuit on Wednesday. Denver7 also asked the Colorado Attorney General’s Office for comment but did not receive a response. Last week, the AG's office declined to comment on its investigation.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.