by Michael C, Bailey, Capenews.net
Donald B. Shulman, owner of Realty DevelopmentAssociates in MA, who allegedly bilked several customers out of millions of
dollars may have avoided any consequences in criminal court, but the people who
claim Donald B. Shulman defrauded them of their money have turned to other
means hoping to get some measure of justice.
“We want him out of the business because he will steal from
other people,” said Ethan Schaff of Stoughton ,
who ran afoul of Mr. Shulman in 2011 while trying to build a new home on Shorewood Drive, East Falmouth —a home that as of this month has
yet to be completed.
Mr. Shulman, 60, of Marstons Mills, last appeared in
Falmouth District Court on January 18, when charges of larceny over $250 by a
single scheme and larceny over $250 were dismissed on a legal motion. Judge
Michael C. Creedon wrote in a memorandum that the matter was better suited for
a civil lawsuit rather than criminal proceedings.
Mr. Shulman, had he been convicted, would have faced a
maximum penalty of five years in prison and $25,000 in fines on each charge.
Mr. Schaff, an attorney specializing in criminal law, and
his wife, Beth, brought the criminal case forth last May, after Mr. Shulman
allegedly defaulted on a contract to provide a modular home for their Shorewood Drive
property, which received the Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals’ approval for a
raze-and-rebuild project in 2011. The Schaffs, who still plan to move to Falmouth within the year,
are now pursuing a civil case against Mr. Shulman.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is currently
reviewing complaints against Mr. Shulman, who previously did business under the
name Realty Development Associates Inc. of Sagamore and Norton, and was an
authorized dealer for Westchester Modular Homes of Wingdale , New York .
As a result of the complaints against him, Westchester
has severed ties with Mr. Shulman; he is no longer listed on the company’s
website as an authorized dealer.
Mr. Shulman is now doing business under the name AffordableModular Houses which has an office in Sandwich ,
although the business’s phone number, which goes into a voicemail system, still
announces it is for Realty Development Associates.
Mr. Shulman responded to requests for comment by e-mail. He
explained he was currently off-Cape and unavailable to discuss the matter, but
said there was “a great deal of inaccurate &/or misinformation
intentionally being circulated” about the case, including that “there is no
company named Affordable Modular Homes...Realty Development Associates is the
only operating company.”
“Due to pending litigation as well as potential future
actions, I can not specifically comment on individual allegations,” he added.
Among the other complaints:
• Subcontractors hired by Mr. Shulman were often late, or
never showed up;
• Subcontractors hired by Mr. Shulman performed shoddy work,
forcing the customers to pay extra to fix the problems;
• Subcontractors who never received their pay from Mr.
Shulman pressed the customers to pay them directly, threatening to leave work
on their homes incomplete if they did not pay;
• Requests for refunds for incomplete projects, or
reimbursements for costs paid by the customers out-of-pocket, were never
reimbursed by Mr. Shulman despite his promises to do so;
• Projects saw long stretches of time during which no work
was performed on the houses, with no explanations given for the delays;
• Promises of expedited deliveries and work in exchange for
rush fees and additional advance payments went unfulfilled.
The clients estimated that they have paid Mr. Shulman in
total $1 to $2 million.
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