Updated 09:15 AM EST, Sat, Nov 23, 2024

Donald Trump Fired by Panama Condominium Owners Due to His Company's Multiple Mismanagement Allegations

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Condominium owners in Panama fired Donald Trump's company in the summer over accusations of mismanagement, overspending, and undisclosed bonuses executives paid themselves.

The 70-story Trump Ocean Club, Central America's largest building along Panama Bay, was managed by the Trump Panama Condominium Management LLC for four years, Yahoo! News reported from The Associated Press. According to the accusation, a group the Trump family put in was accused of "running up more than $2 million in unauthorized debts, paying its executives undisclosed bonuses and withholding basic financial information from owners," the news outlet added.

The Trump Ocean Club board claimed that the GOP frontrunner's family did these allegations through fine-print deception, which includes a clause in majority of residents' purchase agreements hindering them to vote against the Trump company's actions. With this, the Trumps put their top employee as chairman and the residents' representative on the board, despite the Trumps' "actual stake in the building's residential area was merely a storage closet on the 15th floor," Yahoo! News reported.

Board members claimed that Trump's top employees in Panama awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars to themselves without the authorization of unit owners, Fox News Latino wrote. Despite frequent requests, Trump's managers also didn't provide a breakdown of how the building's budget was spent.

Fox News Latino reported that Trump wasn't a developer on the project, but only provided his brand as license with a high price. A 2007 bond prospectus for the development indicated his cumulative licensing payout totaling at $75.4 million, approximately two-thirds the fee raised.

Condo owners said that Trump's reputation as a builder convinced them to purchase their units, even though the company's role was only limited to branding and promoting the project using his name, the news outlet wrote. However, Trump's son, Eric, insisted that they check construction on a regular basis to ensure quality standards.

Eric denied the allegations of mismanagement and called it as an attempt to taint their family's name. Adds Trump's son, the project is "an amazing icon and, frankly, a great testament to America," Fox News Latino noted.

The Trumps' top lawyer, Alan Garten, said that the claim is "a complete sham" and accused the board of ingratitude and criminal trespassing, Yahoo! News noted. Refusing to be fired, Trump's company said that it was quitting and demanded a $5 million termination fee.

While the Ocean Club's board is settling into the administrative offices of the tower, Trump's staff reportedly cut off the office's Internet connection and phone service and retrieved the workplace's copy machine. The Trump Organization's statement to The Associated Press said that this move was done to protect privacy and security, Yahoo! News added.

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