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Veterans Day_2019
Andrew Menjivar / KHTS Radio.

Elliott Wolfe Removed As President Of Santa Clarita Veteran Collaborative After Home Donation Dispute

Elliott Wolfe has been removed as president of the Santa Clarita Veteran Collaborative after dispute over a home donated to a local veteran. 

Albert Rodriguez, a twelve-year combat Marine veteran and former vice president of the Collaborative, was promoted to the position of interim president, and board member, Jonathan Ahmadi, has been elected to the position of vice president, according to officials from the veterans organization. 

“As incorrectly published in a local newspaper article, Elliott Wolfe was not removed from the collaborative’s board; the only difference is that his responsibilities as president have been reassigned,” reads a release from the Collaborative issued Thursday.

Wolfe noted that he refused to sign escrow paperwork for the donated home due to the concerns he had that the family who received the home did not meet all the requirements. 

“I am still on the board,” Wolfe said. “There were many concerns I had about how the home donation was handled. They wanted someone who was willing to sign the paperwork.”  

The board plans to continue operations underneath the leadership of Rodriguez and Ahmadi, offering support and resources for Santa Clarita veterans.

Photo courtesy of the Santa Clarita Veterans Collaborative.

“It is my honor to have been elected by the Board of Directors to serve as Vice President of the Santa Clarita Veteran Services Collaborative,” Ahmadi said. “I am committed to faithfully serving our mission of caring for the interests of local veterans and their families while also ensuring the thousands of veterans in this community have access to the services and benefits they have earned.”

Such was the case when an anonymous donor gifted the Collaborative with a home to be given to a deserving veteran and his family. A qualifying procedure was established and over forty-three applications were submitted. 

The criteria included: an honorable discharge document; employment or proof of a military-related injury that results in 100 percent disability; a good credit score; and the veteran must be able to qualify for a $110,000 VA loan in order to ensure that they would be invested in the home.

The list was whittled down to five who went before an interview committee. Iraq War veteran Ernest Trevizo, his wife and their two sons, who met all the required criteria, were selected as recipients of the house. 

See Related: Ernesto Trevizo – U.S.M.C. – Iraq War Veteran – Canyon Country Resident

However, issues began to arise related to the restrictions placed upon the transfer of the home. On Wednesday, Feb 12, the Trevizos were set to sign closing documents and were informed that escrow would be reaching out to the Collaborative for signatures. They had already placed a 30-day notice on their current residence, and their lender assured them “as long as documents were signed on time,” they would receive their keys during the week of Feb. 18. 

As of Friday, Feb. 21, no closing documents had been signed. In an email dated that same day, the Trevizos detailed the issues they had been facing.

“From day one, we accepted the original guidelines and restrictions. However, we were notified that the Veterans Affairs (VA) Loan has rules and guidelines as protection for their veteran, which do not allow for the recording of restrictions on any VA Loan,” reads the email that was sent from Ernesto and his wife Alyssa. “Thus, we had considered the idea of a 2nd Trust Deed since the VA did not allow the restrictions.”

In the email, the Trevizos alleged that Wolfe had become difficult during the transfer process, stating:

“Elliott Wolfe has mentioned to us that he feels he needs to ‘protect the Collaborative’ and it’s ‘best interest’, from my understanding this gift does not apply to the Collaborative other than the original restrictions,” the email reads. “My family has completed all of the requirements in order to close escrow. If we are expected to continue to wait, and due to the unforeseen closing date, we have no choice but to seek legal assistance.”

During the Veterans Collaborative board meeting on Feb. 26, the board decided to redistribute responsibilities, and move forward with transfer of the home, according to Thursday’s statement.

“There was a deliberation as to whether additional criteria should be added after the fact. In the board meeting of Feb. 26, the board voted to award the house under the original conditions as established at the onset of this process,” said Jeffrey Stabile, director of business Development. “Escrow has been signed and the Collaborative is ecstatic to announce that the Trevizos should be moving into their new home within the next ten days.” 

The Trevizo family was ecstatic to hear the news when they were informed that they had won the home in early December, and hearing that the paperwork would finally be going through was a relief, according to the Trevizo family.

“The new leadership at the Santa Clarita Veteran Services Collaborative has instantly changed the demeanor, to serve, guide and protect the well-being of our veteran community,” Alyssa said. “Our family is thankful for this blessing and the support from the board members and new interim veteran President.”


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Elliott Wolfe Removed As President Of Santa Clarita Veteran Collaborative After Home Donation Dispute

5 comments

  1. After reading the article which was apparently written by Caleb, I wish to note that if anyone at KHTS were willing to spend just 15 to 20 minutes with me, looking at the actual documents in my possession, and the notes from different involved parties, they would come to the conclusion that refusing to sign documents was justified, and that the new president engineered this entire board action to get his long time friend into the home without the required documents, and that facts stated by the donee are totally incorrect…..you probably would re=write the entire story. TWO attorneys gave notice that the documents, as falsely presented to the escrow, should not be signed until corrected. I believe that before an article is qwritten it should be fact checked for truth.

  2. You can tell as you are reading the story that it requires you to read between the lines. Nepotism in its finest form. Thank you Elliott for cleaning the blurred lines

  3. There’s a pattern here. Wasn’t Wolfe kicked off the board a Belcaro and Dell Webb? The veterans are better off without that cancer. Congratulations to Albert and the board for getting that family into their new home.

  4. Truth lies somewhere in the center of a dispute. Sounds like a mediator should have been brought in so this could be handled objectively and cleared up. Sorry Elliott, but if you did the right thing and can sleep at night knowing it, that’s a measure of character and worth a lot more. Best of Luck, hang in there. This too shall pass. J

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About Jade Aubuchon

A Santa Clarita native, Jade has spent her whole life involved in community outreach. After graduating from Learning Post High in 2015, she went on to College of the Canyons to pursue a double major in English and Marketing. Jade spent several years as a ballroom dance performer for a local studio and has performed at public and private events throughout Santa Clarita. As KHTS Co-News Director Jade oversees the KHTS news team, which covers all the latest news impacting Santa Clarita. Along with covering and writing her own news stories, Jade can be heard broadcasting the daily local news every weekday morning and afternoon drive-time twice an hour on KHTS 98.1FM and AM-1220. Jade is also instrumental in reporting on-the-scene local emergencies, covering them on-air and via Facebook Live and YouTube. Another dimension to Jade’s on-air skills and writing are her regular political and celebrity interviews, including her bi-monthly interview with our Congressman Mike Garcia and many other local politicians and community leaders.