Members of Ararat Home of Los Angeles Strongly Oppose Chair. Joseph Kanimian’s Power and Money Grab Scheme
Posted on February. 22. 2020
BY APPO JABARIAN
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine
Hye Kiank Armenian Weekly
Last week’s article, titled “Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc. Targeted for Corporate Takeover,” elicited a strong response from readers and concerned members of the community as well as dues-paying members of Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc. (Ararat Home)
Is covert hostile takeover of Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc. part of a “Big Plan” masterminded by certain group to misappropriate American Armenian Diaspora’s real and financial assets for personal enrichment at the expense of the community?
Since its inception Ararat Home has been governed by the paid members who elected a Board of Trustees. The new plan is to take complete control away from the paid members and the current Trustees as we know it today. If this new amendment passes on Sunday March 29 election, it will mean that 24 individuals will have the sole power to run the Ararat Home as they please.
No longer will the paid membership have a voice. By voting “yes” to have the By-Laws amended gives absolute power to Joseph Kanimian, Esq. and company to do as they choose. They will have the power to draw a salary, to run the home as they choose with the ability to run down our national “A plus” status along with the ability to control what happens to the Ararat Eskijian Museum. They could sell the contents for their profit. In other words, they can do as they choose and the paid members will have no voice.
In other words, like a Life Member said, “This is a Coup! ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”
A longtime Ararat Home supporter contacted the editorial offices and appealed all the paid members: “PLEASE COME AND VOTE “NO” ON ALL MOTIONS RELATING TO ALL AMENDMENTS TO THE BY-LAWS.”
For now, let’s look at the devastating effects of what transpired starting with the
- 1998 takeover of $500 million- and 300,000 member-strong AGBU (Armenian General Benevolent Union) by a special-interest group; the
- 2014 usurpation of ADL-Ramgavar Party’s Tekeyan Cultural Association – the parent organization of Los Angeles based-Arshag Dikranian Armenian School; the
- 2016 Arch. Hovnan Derderian’s hostile takeover of the democratically-elected Parish Council of St. John Garabed Church San Diego and Western Diocese’s control of a prime vacant land in San Diego under a veil of secrecy; Subsequent leveraging of the vacant land by his main proxy then Diocesan Council Chair and now Chair of Ararat Home Joseph Kanimian, Esq., along with Sinan Sinanian to lure Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc. to invest $15 million for the construction of an elderly home facility on Derderian’s Western Diocese-controlled vacant land in San Diego in a Kanimian/Sinanian-peddled ‘joint venture’ between Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc. and Armenian Church Western Diocese; the
- 2016 premature demolishment of St. John Garabed Church Hollywood, that has left this parish church-less and now,
- The 2020 attempted takeover of $100 million- and 800 member-strong Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc.
Concerned members of the community are aware of the consequences of the hostile takeover and abolishment of general membership rights of thousands of members at AGBU in 1998 and later, massive sacking of members at Tekeyan Cultural Association, Inc.
THE CASE OF AGBU
A few years after AGBU’s 1998 takeover by autocrat Berge Setrakian and his main allies and backers, Sinan Sinanian as well as the late Louise Manoogian-Simone, AGBU Central Board unilaterally shuttered numerous Armenian schools in Diaspora.
Around 2004-2005 Setrakian-led AGBU Central Board shut down Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI) in Cyprus and then proceeded to sell off the real estate assets worth over $100 million. Luckily for the Diaspora Armenians, and thanks to numerous Melkonian Alumni activists including Dr. Harout Mesrobian, MD (who currently sits on the Board of Trustees at Ararat Home), along with Arsine Shirvanian, Raffi Zinzalian, the late Zohrab Shammassian and several others, the government of Cyprus righteously declared the gardens at MEI as a ‘Historic Landmark’ where the orphaned survivors of the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide had planted numerous trees that exist to this day.
To their credit, MEI alumni has recently funded a major lawsuit against Setrakian-Sinanian’s AGBU and they partially succeeded in stopping the sell-off of the real estate asset thanks to timely assistance by the government of Cyprus.
In 2019 Setrakian/Sinanian-led AGBU Central Board unilaterally decided to shut down AGBU Vatche’ and Tamar Manoukian High School in Pasadena. Sadly, there were no dues-paying members around to raise any opposition to the unwarranted school closure.
If Kanimian succeeds on March 29, a similar could be faced by Ararat Home.
Now, no one knows for sure as to what it will happen to millions of dollars’ worth of real estate assets belonging to the condemned school in Pasadena.
In-between 1998 and 2019, AGBU has also shut down numerous other Armenian schools and community centers in United States, Canada, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere.
THE CASE OF ADL-TCA TEKEYAN CULTURAL ASSOC.-DIKRANIAN ARMENIAN SCHOOL
In 2016, after reported intentional, systematic and orchestrated failure of the school by the autocrats of ADL-TCA Edmond Azadian, Haroutune Arzoumanian and others, the TCA culprits sold the real assets of Arshag Dikranian Armenian School for about $15.5 million.
No one knows of the whereabouts of the funds. The school’s unjustifiable closure left hundreds of Armenian students academically homeless throwing them into the jaws of assimilation or White Genocide.
THE CASE OF ST. JOHN GARABED CH. SAN DIEGO/WESTERN DIOCESE
In 2016 Arch. Hovnan Derderian’s proxy, the same Joseph Kanimian, Esq. was the Diocesan Council Chairman, who reportedly had orchestrated the forced resignation of the well-respected and devoted Parish Council of St. John Garabed Church San Diego and the beloved Pastor Datev Tatoulian and replaced them with several yes-men.
The Chair-hopping Kanimian later became Chairman of Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc.
Recently, Derderian’s allies prematurely sold St. John Garabed Church San Diego without having secured the construction of a new church.
Now, that parish is church-less awaiting the construction of a new church. But many are wondering, “Will the new church ever be built as promised by Derderian-Kanimian team?”
Others are asking, “Where have all the faithful gone? When will they ever return and pray again?”
“Architectural rendering of the so-called projected new San Diego Church with the empty land being dangled as the ‘carrot’ in front of the faithful and the community with the promise of an upcoming church to be built … Where have all the funds from the sale of the sold old church gone? Id Derderian true intention was to maintain a real parish, then why did he rush to demolish the existing and functioning church before building the new one?” lamented a parishioner.
THE CASE OF ST. JOHN GARABED CH. HOLLYWOOD
In 2016, Derderian/Pastor Manuk Markarian/own son Harout Markarian-controlled Parish Council prematurely demolished the church in Hollywood without securing the needed funds and now, this parish also is left church-less.
Reportedly, during an entire 15-year period (2003-2018), Derderian-Markarian-Markarian triumvirate were able to raise only $1.5 million mostly coming from fundraisers sponsored by Dr. Petros Taglyan. These events were underwritten by Dr. Taglyan before Derderian-Markarian-Kanimian group had attempted to railroad Dr. Taglyan out of millions of dollars in 2018, resulting in a court battle between Western Diocese and Dr. Taglyan, relating to the Taglyan Complex for which Dr. Taglyan had secured from the bank around $17 million by personally guaranteeing the repayment. Western Diocese lost the court case and was ordered by the Judge to pay all court costs.
THE CASE OF ARARAT HOME OF LOS ANGELES, INC.
Currently an attempted takeover of $100 million-strong Ararat Home has triggered strong opposition both within the organization and the community at large.
A few years ago, Ararat Home was initially targeted by the primate of Western Diocese Arch. Derderian.
Derderian wanted Ararat Home to invest nearly $15 million in a joint venture with the Western Diocese proposed by his proxies on the board of Ararat Home, the former Diocesan Council Chairman and now Chairman of Ararat Home Joseph Kanimian, Esq. along with longtime Diocese fixture Sinan Sinanian, general contractor of the Western Diocese St. Leon Cathedral and the general contractor for two recent buildings at Ararat Home while being an active Trustee of Ararat Home.
How can a person wear two hats – a trustee whose fiduciary duty is to pursue accountability of the contractor while being the contractor himself? A glaring conflict of interest!
Even though Ararat Home has always prided itself with upholding transparency and accountability, but can the top management of the organization guarantee that there has been total transparency in Sinanian construction costs?
Since Derderian and his proxies couldn’t get the $15 million, now, they have come up with a ‘brilliant’ scheme to not only get the $15 million but the entire organization with over $100 million in real and financial assets, it seems.
The current Ararat Home board chairman Kanimian, Esq. now has introduced a motion that is devised to expel hundreds of dues-paying members by rescinding their voting rights in order to potentially
1) Control the organization and its $100 million plus assets;
2) Unilaterally decide the future direction of the organization by unjustifiably shutting down the organization and ultimately liquidating its assets leaving hundreds of Armenian senior residents homeless; or if the organization is kept open
3) Dictate the admittance process of elderly candidates to the home; and
4) Potentially establish a monopoly that may eventually trigger massive misappropriation and/or mismanagement of over one hundred million dollars in funds, real estate assets and other properties including historic artifacts in the Ararat Home Eskijian Museum.
The proposed two-paragraph motion is hidden in page 4 of a 7-page lengthy, UNDATED, UNSIGNED CORRESPONDENCE, titled “Second Amendment to By-Laws of Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc.” Even the color of the paper is jovial and has the looks of a bunch of event fliers. Recipients may even tend to ignore the importance and the urgency of the dull letter.
In order to create the false impression in the minds of the general voting members that “IT’S A DONE DEAL,” the Board of Trustees’ cover letter states: “Full copies of the Certificate of Amendment of Articles of Incorporation and the Second Amendment to By-Laws are enclosed with this notice. The Board of Trustees has approved the Certificate of Amendment of Articles of Incorporation and the Second Amendment to By-Laws for member adoption and recommends that members vote for approval and adoption.”
“It’s interesting how softly Kanimian, Esq. has worded certain paragraphs in the undated correspondence sent out in early Feb.,” said a paid member.
The cover letter continues: “The certificate of amendment of articles of incorporation and the second amendment to By-Laws remove statutory membership rights of the corporation’s members to allow for simplified administration and governance of the Home.”
“In the past, the Board of Trustees regularly mailed proxy ballots to the members in order to facilitate voting by members who may have been unable to personally attend and vote. But now, for unknown reasons, the Board unilaterally decided not to distribute proxy ballots prior to the meeting,” lamented a longtime member who said he will be unable to attend for health reasons.
A concerned member sounded the alarm: “IN ORDER TO AVERT A DISASTROUS OUTCOME, THE CURRENT MEM-BERS OF ARARAT HOME MUST DEFEAT THE PRO-POSED SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE BY-LAWS THAT AIMS TO ABOLISH GENERAL MEMBERS’ VOTING RIGHTS. I’D LIKE TO URGE ALL MEMBERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO ATTEND THE SUN. MARCH 29, 2020 MEETING AT 3:00 PM. AND VOTE “NO.” WE SHALL NOT ALLOW THIS MEETING TO BECOME THE LAST MEMBERSHIP-CONTROLLED MEETING AT ARARAT HOME.”
SAD very sad …..