At the start of the new year, a prominent real estate group finds itself in disarray following the sudden resignations of two of its presidents and a controversial video released by its new leader.
Las Vegas Realtors, the largest nonprofit organization representing real estate professionals in southern Nevada and the sixth largest real estate association in the United States, faced a turbulent year in 2024 marked by allegations, suspensions, and disputes.
The unfolding saga took a dramatic turn this week as Merri Perry, the outgoing president, and Joshua Campa, her successor who had just taken office, both stepped down on the same day, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Although Perry hasn’t made a public statement on the matter, Campa – who resigned just three days into his term – shared a long and detailed public Facebook post on Friday where he explained his decision was due to a ‘litany of reasons’.
Some of his decision-making, he explained, included the toll the last year took on him mentally and the fall-out which seeped into his family life and business.
‘I resigned because the environment of toxicity among individuals who seek to further themselves into positions they can’t earn on their own became too much for me to handle everyday,’ he shared.
‘I resigned because I knew that a certain group of people have become fixated on wanting me to get removed since I embarked on this journey and regardless of what any investigation result said they would stop at nothing.
‘I resigned because I can no longer stomach engaging in a culture where people make getting an award or obtaining their next volunteer position the center of their lives,’ he continued.
‘I resigned because the threat of blackmail to the people around me if I stayed in the position was not worth the heartache.
‘We only get one chance on this Earth, and I will not live another year of my life in this environment, and I encourage all of you to do the same.’
He ended his post with a mention of George Kypreos – who will be replacing Campa as the 2025 president – and urged the public to give him grace as he’s proved himself to be a solid neutral leader.
But Kypreos released a bombshell video on YouTube the same day as Campa’s resignation post – detailing the situation in which he said the days of ‘neon lights, cheap tricks and endless distractions’ are over.
‘I’m speaking to you now because our entire membership, our entire community, is owed an apology,’ he began.
‘This past year, our association was rocked by allegations of election tampering, breaches of confidentiality, suspensions, resignations.
‘Our failure is not about mistakes made by individuals,’ he added. ‘It’s about an institution falling short of the promise it makes to the people it serves.’
Kypreos goes on to say that the association ‘should never be used for personal gain’ while acknowledging that the real estate giant failed to protect the ‘collective reputation’ of its own members.
‘Instead, we got tangled in scandal and lost sight of the core values that bind us – professionalism, trust,’ he continued.
‘Instead of highlighting the ethics and transparency, the personal agendas clouded our judgement instead of nurturing strong community ties, we put our credibility on the line. And lost.
‘I’m shutting down the side show for good – the neon lights, cheap tricks, endless distractions. It’s all coming down from now on.’
The association first showed cracks under the public spotlight in March when two real estate agents got into a heated fight while at a board meeting – leading to police intervention.
The meeting – a brokers forum which are held a few times a year to update members on several subjects relating to the real estate industry – had at least 100 people in attendance at the time.
A LVR member present at the meeting told the Las Vegas Review-Journal anonymously that the altercation stemmed from a question Eric Mendoza, an agent with Simply Vegas Real Estate, asked of the board and its 15 members.
At one point, another broker ‘charged’ at Mendoza, leading to attempts in separating the two.
According to the witness, Mendoza was denied the ability to ask a question regarding the representation in a previous lawsuit filed in the US District Court of Nevada.
The prior lawsuit alleged that the National Association of Realtors, the Las Vegas Realtors and various other brokers have ‘conspired’ to artificially inflate their commissions for years.
Prior to the pandemic, officials with the Department of Justice visited Las Vegas several times to issue subpoenas and interview brokers on things relating to commissions charged by brokerages.
Las Vegas Realtors made its first initial statement about the lawsuits in February on their website.
‘As emphasized numerous times for many years by the National Association of Realtors and others, the compensation and commissions involved in a residential real estate transaction are negotiable between real estate agents and their clients,’ it said.
Annie Browning DiMartini, who is listed as the broker and owner of Luxe One Realty, confirmed that the March fight did revolve around Mendoza’s question, which was about why an agent who is with the Las Vegas Realtors is ‘also an attorney representing the plaintiff against our association?’
The local real estate industry was rocked off balance by two ‘copycat’ lawsuits that carried the potential to drastically change the residential real estate industry.
In August, the downfall only intensified when more than 50 real estate agents showed up to the Las Vegas Realtors headquarters demanding an independent investigation.
They called for transparency into alleged election interference of board members and directors in the 2025 election.
Britney Gaitan and Stephanie Grant were campaigning against each other for the vice president position at LVR.
But Gaitan spoke out as a whistleblower in an email after she suspected several of the associations leaders along with Wendy DiVecchio, the CEO, may have manipulated the results.
Allegedly, DiVecchio had an interest in seeing Grant defeated, a source told KTNV 13.
In the email, Gaitan expressed concerns after Campa and DiVecchio had personally told her to ‘keep campaigning’.
She also noted that ‘the fact that the CEO gave tally election numbers in real-time to Merri was a huge concern’.
The Board of Directors ended up hiring a third party to investigate – which led to a 30-day suspension for DiVecchio and several board members to resign in protest – but no report has yet been made public.
Then in November, several members of the association filed formal complaints with Aaron Ford, Nevada’s attorney general – asking him to further investigate the leadership style and the allegations of election tampering.
Under Nevada law, nonprofit organizations, such as the LVR association, is subject to examination by the Attorney General to make sure the organization has not departed ‘from the purposes for which it was formed’.
‘I am trying to ensure that the board doesn’t just sweep it under the rug, which has been kind of the status quo in the past,’ a broker who filed a complaint told Nevada Current.
Brokers and agents with knowledge of the events asserted further that Perry and Campa attempted to influence the election at the behest of DiVecchio.
According to some of its members, DiVecchio allegedly accessed the organization’s election software while voting was underway and contacted Campa, who then notified Perry, that Grant was ahead of Gaiton, who was their choice for the position.
Another person who filed a complaint said: ‘DiVecchio told them to get out the vote for Gaiton. The CEO had previously accused Grant of an accusation that was later found to be a lie.’
Dave Tina, a former president, took to Facebook in November to agree that the members have been left in the dark over the alleged suspicious behavior of the top position holders.
‘Unfortunately the LVR Executive Committee and Board have BLOCKED every attempt by 20 former presidents to answer any questions we have presented in three separate letters,’ Tina wrote.
He also contended that members have learned of ‘secrecy in some spending’ – including targeting members with fines, allegedly using $400,000 on personal bodyguards, spending more than $250,000 on a lavish installation party and an after-party and $400,000 in legal fees to defend their actions of expulsion.
Members have said that they are frustrated that no results have been disclosed even though their dues are footing the bill for $600-per-hour investigation.
Realtors also pay $700 a year to belong to the association, which has nearly 15,000 members, along with monthly fees for a membership running upward to $260 a year with confidentiality policies that must be signed regarding monthly board meetings.
DailyMail.com has approached Campa, Perry and Gaiton for comment.
