Local business owner says housing management company owes him thousands of dollars | News

TULSA, Okla. — A local business owner said a housing management company owes him thousands of dollars. He said he wants to warn other business owners. 

Rick Nation owns a restoration and board up company in Tulsa. He restores damaged apartments and boards up windows and doors. 

Nation said he is frustrated because he has not been paid in full for a job his crews began working in March at Savanna Landing Apartments near 61st Street and Peoria Avenue. 

“They called us and said they have 80 something apartments to do and they can’t rent them because of the conditions of them. They wanted to try us out for the first 10,” said Nation. “So we started on our 10. We got under contract. That was going well until we weren’t getting paid, so we stopped coming out.” 

Rick said he has subcontractors that depend on him for income. 

“They’re out that revenue and they count on it,” said Rick. “So, it’s not just me.” 

The company Rick said hasn’t paid him and his workers is Millennia Housing Management out of Cleveland, Ohio. FOX23 checked their company website and the apartment complex wasn’t listed. 

The Tulsa county Accessor website, however, did show that Millennia owns Savanna Landing Apartments. 

“We told them six weeks. We got 10 units done. So that’s what they signed up against. They wanted to start paying. They said April 1st would be our first check. He said, ‘Well, can you start two weeks early?’ I said yes,” Rick said. 

He said Millennia paid him a small amount, but not even enough to cover the cost of labor. When Rick tried to get the rest of the money, he said he started to get pushback. 

“So we stopped working, and they tried to get us back again. So, we haven’t been back since,” Rick said. 

Since his crews stopped work, Rick said he continued to reach out to his contact at Millennia, Frank Penavic. 

“He would say, ‘give us a little time.’ He did say, ‘If I have to, I’ll pay out of my own pocket,’ things like that,” said Rick. “He said this particular location has funding and it’s pulled out of reserves, and we’re next on the list. [He] kept on saying we’re next on the list. You know, that never happened.” 

Rick said eventually, Frank stopped answering texts and calls. FOX33 looked into Frank’s job title online and couldn’t find anything. 

“He was really good about responding for a while; texts, emails, phones, and all that. Then, that just stopped,” said Rick. 

We called Frank to ask about Rick’s claims. He declined to comment. However, the next day, Millennia sent the following statement: 

“Millennia Housing Management, Ltd. is currently in communication with the vendor to address the remaining scope of the project and determine the appropriate next steps. Board Up Tulsa has received partial payment related to work at Savanna Landing. Our goal is to resolve the matter professionally and in alignment with the services completed.” 

The company also said that Savanna Landing is currently listed for sale and is “in the process of transitioning management agencies.” 

I knew something was up. You get in contact with a large company, you don’t expect this kind of treatment,” said Rick. “But you know, I started seeing red flags.” 

FOX23 looked into Millennia and found that according to the Tulsa County Clerk’s Office, five other companies have filed liens on the apartment since 2022. Altogether, the liens total around $80,000. 

FOX23’s sister station in Memphis has been following complaints against Millennia for years. Like Tulsa, contractors there claim they have not been paid. 

FOX23 learned from our sister station that Millennia planned to start an exit from the affordable housing industry in 2023. 

A letter from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) showed they face Millennia’s former CEO Frank Sinito and Millennia Housing Management a notice of suspension and proposed debarment. 

The System for Award Management website shows that it is no longer proposed and is final. The debarment means that Millennia is banned for entering any new business with HUD or Section 8 for five years. 

Rick said he doesn’t know if he’ll ever get paid. 

“I want to get paid what I’m due, but that’s not all. I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to somebody else, because it will continue going on,” Rick said. “It will until they get this palace sold, or whatever they’re doing with it.” 

Rick said he has since filed a lien on the apartment complex. 

FOX23 will continue to provide updates on this story as information becomes available.