By Staff Writer
Barely two weeks after been elected as a legitimate Speaker of the 55th National Legislature, Hon. Richard N. Koon has been summoned by the 6th Judicial Circuit Civil Law Court in Montserrado County to appear on Friday, May 23, 2025 to answer to a complaint filed by his wife Angeline Mamie Worloh Koon for his inability to account for an estimated two hundred and nine thousand United States (US$209, 000) as proceeds generated in rental fees for ten (10) apartments they both owned.
Madam Koon informed the court that she is the legal wife of the Speaker and they have been married for twenty-five (25) years, since 2000.
During this period, they both acquired a joint property in March 2004 located in Unity Conference Center Community, Hotel Africa Road, Virginia, Montserrado County, Liberia.
Madam Koon alleged that since 2005 they developed the land and built five (5) duplexes containing two (2) apartments each for a total of ten (10) apartments.
According to Madam Koon, in 2007, she and her husband mutually agreed to use the properties for rental purposes to generate funds and support their family, but to date, the respondent as the one managing the properties has failed, refused and neglected to provide petitioner with any information about income generated from the rentals or leasesr and how such proceeds are being used and to whose benefit.
Petitioner says that the estimated income for the first year (2007) was US 11, 000 but she has no clue whether the projected income was met, what the income for the last nineteen (19) years.
Madam Koon says that the purpose of renting the properties have not been met as the Speaker was not accounting to her prior to them having separate abodes, and is still not accounting to her even now. She further says that the apartments are not being properly maintained.
Madam Koon asserted that despite the properties belonging to both of them, Mr. Koon continues to singlehandedly supervise the property, select tenants and collects rents without any reference to her.
“He is operating and managing the apartments to the total exclusion of me as evident by the tenants currently occupying all the apartments without my presence and knowledge, ” She stated.
Petitioner says the Respondent has failed to account or make any form of report to the Petitioner, has deprived her of her rights to the income generated and every effort by her to get information about their joint property and proceeds generated from rentals and or leases, have yielded no results over the years.
Madam Koon says that this has been a long source of contention over the years, as sometime in 2015, she and the speaker had a heated argument about his lack of accounting and report on the proceeds from the rent during which Respondent told her to go to the apartments and ask the tenants for copies of their receipts.
Petitioner says that she did get some receipts from some tenants to see how much was being paid but since then, the Speaker has instructed tenants not to deal with her, in spite of their joint ownership, thus depriving her of her share from the rent.
She averred that a petition for proper accounting will lie to hold the person managing the property liable to account for the operations and financial accounting of said properties where said person is depriving the owner of their financial interest, whether in estate and trusts, corporation, leases, tenancy etc.
Madam Koon in her petition quoted the Black’s Law Dictionary 10th Edition defines accounting as “a legal action to compel a defendant to account for and pay over money owed to the Plaintiff but held by the defendant; it further says that “such an action is available when the rights of parties will be adequately protected by the payment of money”.
Petitioner says that its interest in the property will be adequately protected if her husband/Respondent is compelled to account for and pay money from the rent owed to her.