Raimondo, Commerce Give $3.6M to “One of Most Dishonest and Unscrupulous” Developers

Raimondo, Commerce Give $3.6M to “One of Most Dishonest and Unscrupulous” Developers

On Monday, Governor Gina M. Raimondo and the Board of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation voted to provide Urban Smart Growth — which is run by controversial developer Lance Robbins — up to a maximum of $3,569,657 in Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credits.

However, one of the top advocacy lawyers in the country, Lauren Saunders, told GoLocalProv.com following the announcement on Tuesday, “Robbins was one of the most dishonest and unscrupulous people I have come across in my career working for vulnerable tenants and consumers. I cannot imagine entrusting any (public) money to him.”

Saunders, who is Associate Director of the National Consumer Law Center in Washington, DC, had battled with Robbins when she represented tenants in Los Angeles, CA where Robbins operated before relocating to Rhode Island.

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The National Consumer Law Center's, whose mission is "serving low-income consumers," states that it is "committed to supporting and advancing diversity inside and outside the organization." Saunders clarified that her commments on Robbins were hers, and not of the center's.

“Lance Robbins was the worst slumlord in L.A. history. The city's Slum Housing Task Force prosecuted him numerous times for horrible conditions at his buildings. He also ran up huge water bills at his buildings that he refused to pay, and the city was reluctant to shut off the water for fear of harming the tenants. I filed a False Claims Act case against him and he was forced to pay $1 million in back water bills," Saunders told GoLocal.

As GoLocal reported earlier this month: 

Robbins was cited with 105 health and building-code violations, piled up 32 convictions, paid a $1 million settlement, just to name a few of his legal problems, according to press reports.

“Residents of a dilapidated building who say they regularly fight off armies of giant rats, swarms of cockroaches and youth gangs that roam their hallways have sued the building's owner for $10 million,” wrote the Associated Press in a 1986 article.

For more than 15 years, housing advocates, consumer groups and government attorneys took dozens of legal actions against Robbins and his companies. After years of legal battles, he pleaded to some crimes, and paid more than a million dollars in settlements.

Commerce Funding Millions

According to Commerce, Robbins’ company “received approval on a $38.9 million project that would complete the redevelopment of a nearly 140,0000 square-foot building in the city’s historic Hope Webbing Company mill complex, which has been renamed Hope Artiste Village.”  The Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credits will be issued over five years. The third phase of the Hope Artiste Village redevelopment includes adding almost 150 loft-style apartments with supporting facilities. 

Saunders went on to say, “He was also extremely ingenious about using a complex web of sham corporations to avoid liability. After the fines from his slum violations and his back water bills started adding up, he started foreclosing against himself and putting his buildings into receivership to escape accountability.”

“His buildings were in numerous different corporations and partnerships and he put loans in other names against his own buildings, then started a foreclosure action,” added Saunders. “He (Robbins) then asked the court to appoint a ‘neutral’ receiver who he chose who actually just let Robbins stay in control of the building.  We detailed that in the same lawsuit.”

Efforts to reach Robbins by email and phone were unsuccessful.