Scott Wolinsky, a former director of American International Industries Inc., and his wife Maria Wolinsky, filed a civil lawsuit March 20 against appraisal company George Kahle Group LLC and its owner, George Kahle, III, in the 190th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas.
American International Industries Inc. is a diversified holding company of subsidiaries with interests in real estate, intellectual property, and the acquisition of petroleum resources in the United States.
Kahle is an appraiser who recently was found to have violated a number of Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) provisions in regards to a pair of assignments completed for American.
The lawsuit was filed by the Wolinskys following the entry of an “Agreed Final Order” between Kahle and the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB) on Feb. 20. An investigation was initiated by TALCB at the request of Scott Wolinsky in August 2013 regarding appraisals of a 64.6-acre property located in Galveston County, Texas, and a 95.8-acre property located in Galveston County. The reports were prepared for American International President and CEO Daniel Dror.
Wolinsky filed his complaints with the board based on an independent investigation of various financial transactions associated with the appraisals in his capacity as a member of American International Industries’ Audit Committee.
Shortly thereafter, Kahle was notified of the complaints and asked to provide certain documentation to the board, which he complied with.
The TALCB found that each of the appraisals prepared by Kahle violated 17 USPAP provisions of Section 1103.405 of the Tex. Occ. Code and Sections 153.20(a)(6) and 155.1(a) of 22 Tex. Admin. Code. The TALCB concluded that material misrepresentations and material omissions of material fact were made with respect to the appraisals.