Just weeks after taking the gavel as Speaker of the 55th National Legislature, Hon. Richard N. Koon is facing legal trouble at home. The Sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court, has issued a writ of summons for the newly elected Speaker to respond to a lawsuit filed by his wife, Angeline Mamie Worloh Koon, over more than US$209,000 in unaccounted rental proceeds.
In her complaint, Madam Koon, who says she has been married to Speaker Koon since 2000, alleges that the couple jointly acquired a parcel of land in March 2004 in the Unity Conference Center Community on Hotel Africa Road in Virginia, Montserrado County. According to her, they developed the property into five duplexes, ten apartments in total, which they agreed to rent out beginning in 2007 to generate income for their household.
However, in her detailed petition to the court, Madam Koon claims that since the rental business began, her husband has managed the property unilaterally and has consistently refused to provide an account of the income generated or how it has been used. She estimates that the first year alone brought in around US$11,000, but she says she has not seen a cent, or any records, since then.
“The purpose of renting the properties has not been met,” Madam Koon stated in the petition, adding that even before they began living separately, her husband failed to disclose rental earnings and has continued to exclude her from any financial or managerial decisions related to the property.
She further alleges that the apartments are not properly maintained and that she has been entirely shut out of their operations, including tenant selection and rent collection. “He is operating and managing the apartments to the total exclusion of me,” Madam Koon said, noting that all current tenants were placed without her knowledge or input.
The complaint also revisits a 2015 dispute between the couple, during which Madam Koon said she was told by her husband to “go ask the tenants for receipts” when she questioned him about rental income. She said she was able to obtain some receipts at the time but was later barred from further interaction with the tenants.
Relying on legal precedent and definitions cited from Black’s Law Dictionary, Madam Koon is arguing that as a joint owner, she is entitled to a full accounting of proceeds from the rental properties. She asked the court to compel Speaker Koon to produce financial records and to pay her the share of the income to which she is legally entitled.
The case adds an unexpected legal cloud over Speaker Koon’s recent rise to one of the highest political offices in Liberia and could have both personal and political implications as the matter unfolds in court.
Speaker Koon has yet to publicly respond to the allegations. The Civil Law Court has not announced a date for the first hearing.
Source: FPA
