Munck Wilson Mandala Sues Dallas Office Owner Alleging Fraud

Texas-based Munck Wilson Mandala LLP accuse the building owner and property manager of their corporate office of fraud, and seek at least $1 million in compensation, according to a complaint filed in a federal court.

The law firm sued developer Mark Jordan and some of his associates in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas. They accused Jordan acting with others to defraud them by submitting false invoices, demands, and statements regarding the operation of the firm’s office space in Dallas. He allegedly used his own management company, called Sooner, to defraud tenants by inflating operating expenses built into commercial leases and then using that money to benefit himself and his co-conspirators at the expense of investors and tenants, the law firm said.

The case stems from the 2016 purchase of the Dallas office—Banner Place—by Jordan and business partner Scot Florsheim. Following the purchase, they approached the firm to ask them to become an investor and part-owner of the building to reduce operating expenses and make improvements that would upgrade the office.

After Munck Wilson Mandala agreed to invest, Jordan and his entities managed the operations of Banner Place and controlled operational expenses through Sooner. The law firm alleges that Jordan began to reduce services and began to submit fraudulent year-end reports and invoice additional fictitious excess costs such as the inflation of several categories of expenses that weren’t affected by building capacity.

Jordan would state he would spend money in common area maintenance and repairs, such as common area maintenance, to defraud the law firm and presumably other tenants, the law firm said.

For example in 2017, the operating expenses report totaled over $92,000 and 2018 that charge went to more than $115,000 over expenses that didn’t vary with occupancy, the firm alleged.

Sooner also used the wrong calculation to determine occupancy percentages, charging the law firm for expenses for square footage that doesn’t exist, the complaint said.

The law firm also accused Jordan’s wife, Laura Maczka-Jordan—the former mayor of Richardson, Texas—of participating in the scheme.

They also allege that the couple has been convicted twice of white collar crimes in the Eastern District of Texas. “This is not the first tenant the defendants conspired to defraud, but the plaintiffs intends to be the last,” Munck Wilson Mandala said.

Causes of Action: Fraud, fraudulent inducement.

Relief: More than $1,000,000.

Response: The defendants didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Attorneys: Munck Wilson Mandala LLP represented itself.

The case is Munck Wilson Mandala LLP v. Jordan, N.D. Tex., No. 3:22-cv-01657, 7/29/22.