South Hampton HOA president, treasurer charged with felony theft

Sheriff’s investigation alleges elaborate scheme involving family members, shell company, accounts

South Hampton Homeowners’ Association president Ulysee Davis, his wife Linda and HOA treasurer Benedicto Afroilan have each been charged with felony theft and conspiring to steal in excess of $100,000 for allegedly stealing money from the South Hampton

Homeowners Association over the course of at least five years, according to charges filed by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office.

The charges cap a 14-month investigation by CCSO’s financial crimes division that involved tracing payments to and from multiple accounts in least three banks and the seizure of documents from the Davis and Afroilan residences.

According to the charging documents, “it is apparent that the defendant Ulysee Davis conspired with co-defendants Benedicto Afroilan, [Afroilan’s daughter] Elsa G. Afroilan, Linda Davis, and [Davis’ daughter] Uniqueka McKinney Davis set up a shell corporation called Unique Management Company in a guise to steal money from the South Hampton Homeowner’s Association.”

The sheriff’s office alleges that Ulysee Davis would issue a monthly payment to Unique Management Company and then transfer the money to personal bank accounts in his, his wife’s and his daughter’s names.

Davis is also alleged to have hired a company owned by Elsa Afroilan, CleanGreen Services, as a subcontractor to provide trash pickup services in the South Hampton neighborhood, which served as a cover for transferring deposits made by Davis to the Afroilans’ personal accounts.

In addition, between February 2014 and March 2018, Davis allegedly issued checks to himself, his wife and the Afroilans for “services not rendered or approved by the South Hampton Homeowners’ Association.”

The charges also mention that Elsa Afroilan was paid to write “columns in the local newspaper.” The Maryland Independent ran several letters to the editor and paid advertisements submitted under Davis’ signature between March 2016 and June 2018.

CCSO filed the charges against Ulysee Davis and Afroilan on Saturday, Oct. 6, and against Linda Davis the following day. The Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the charges.

CCSO spokeswoman Diane Richardson told the Maryland Independent that the sheriff’s office was first made aware of the situation last summer when HOA members spoke with Cpl. Travis Yates, the neighborhood’s Community Oriented Policing Services representative, and expressed their concern about an apparent $10,000 contribution that, they had been told, the

HOA had made to the COPS program.

The COPS program is funded by CCSO and does not accept funding from the communities it serves.

Yates alerted the department’s financial crimes division, and in late July 2017 Sgt. Elizabeth Clark, then holding the rank of detective, undertook an investigation that involved interviewing HOA residents as well as the accused, reviewing complaints filed with the Charles County Homeowner’s Association Dispute Resolution Board, obtaining budget documents and gaining access to bank account records.

A 19-page report of the results of Clark’s investigation was included in the charging documents.

Ulysee Davis ran as a Democratic candidate for county commissioner for District 2 in the Primary Election. He lost to Thomasina Coates.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 19, at 1 p.m. in the District Court building in La Plata.