PROVIDENCE, RI –Councilwoman Donna Travis will be arraigned in Third Division District Court in Warwick today on a misdemeanor charge of filing a false document in the transfer of property from the Oakland Beach Association to her ownership.
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and Rhode Island State Police Colonel Darnell S. Weaver announced the charge this morning. The development is the result of a Rhode Island State Police investigation into allegations involving the Councilwoman’s transfer of property from the Oakland Beach Association.
The arraignment is scheduled to take place on July 16, 2024, in Third Division District Court before District Court Judge J. Terence Houlihan, Jr.
Oakland Beach Real Estate Owners Association alleges fraud
In 2023, the Oakland Beach Real Estate Owners Association sued Travis in Superior Court alleging fraudulent transfer of 735 Oakland Beach Ave. to Travis, which may hinge on her role and that of Beverlee Sturdahl, its past secretary, in 2021.
Neither were officially listed as officers of the Association in 2021, when Sturdahl signed the quit claim deed passing ownership of the 735 Oakland Beach Ave. property, assessed by the City of Warwick at $65,700, from the group to Travis. Yet Sturdahl signed the deed on behalf of the Association. The property was assessed at $40,300 at the time of the transfer.
At the time of the deed signing, on Aug. 14, 2021, however, there was no official record of the Association membership on file with the Secretary of State, leaving the membership of that group in question at the time.
Travis sued by ACLU of RI for expelling Cote from meeting
An article about the suit ‘s allegations in the Providence Journal was the subject of a frequent city critic Rob Cote’s remarks to the Warwick City Council, for which Travis, operating the meeting in the absence of City Council President Steve McAllister, ordered Cote’s ouster from a July 17 City Council meeting moments into his allotted public speaking time.
The interrupted comments resulted in another lawsuit against Travis from the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island on behalf of Cote. That suit urges the Council to reassure the public about their right to free speech during City Council meetings.
Oakland Beach Association Sues Travis, Sturdahl for Fraud
In Trying to Dispel Smoke, Travis Started a New Fire
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