A former property manager for the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) is being sued for $126,000 by a couple who claim he did faulty architectural work for them under the guise of the BHC.

It is the second allegation of BHC officers moonlighting for personal gain out of the quango's offices to surface since an investigation into corruption at BHC was launched two weeks ago.

Yolanda and Michael Furbert filed suit against BHC and former officer Isaac Foy last year in an effort to recover their losses after he prepared architectural plans for them which failed to pass Planning Department inspections.

The couple refused to comment to The Royal Gazette on the matter but according to the writ of summons the newspaper obtained, the couple met with Mr. Foy in his office at BHC in October 1999 seeking financial assistance to finish their Warwick home.

At the time, Mr. Foy was working in the BHC property department. He was dismissed from Housing Corporation in May 2001, however, and is currently fighting that dismissal through the Bermuda Public Services Union (BPSA).

The Furberts claim that when they met with Mr. Foy in 1999 they were told they needed to hire an architect to complete the plans for their home but that BHC could provide the service for $16,000.

"At all the material times, the (Furberts) believed they were dealing with (Bermuda Housing Corporation) and that (Mr. Foy) was employed by and acting on behalf of (BHC) and (Mr. Foy) confirmed to the plaintiffs that (BHC) would provide a financial guarantee for mortgage financing to complete renovations to the plaintiff's property," the writ states.

The Furberts took Mr. Foy's offer to develop the plans and paid him $16,000 personally but, when produced, the drawings failed to meet the approval of the Planning Department and in the end the Furberts had to engage a second architect.

They were not reimbursed for the money they paid Mr. Foy and contend they only later learned the work had not been done under the auspices of BHC at all.

The financing for the house with BHC also fell through and the Furberts are now suing for the money they paid Mr. Foy and the second architect as well as lost rental income.

A judgment in default of defence was issued in their favour in October last year but yesterday Mr. Foy's attorney Kieron Unwin told The Royal Gazette he is moving to have that judgment set aside as it was lodged without his knowledge.

"The judgment was irregularly entered," Mr. Unwin said.

He said he'd been in contact with the Furbert's lawyer Llewelyn Peniston about the case before the judgment was entered and only found out last week, that Mr. Peniston had applied to the court for a judgement in default of defence without notifying him.

The Royal Gazette understands that BHC is also fighting the suit with lawyers from Marshall Aicardi.

Yesterday, Mr. Foy told The Royal Gazette that he made it perfectly clear to the Furberts that he was providing the architectural drawings privately and not through the Housing Corporation.

"I was working with Bermuda Housing Corporation but made it clear to them it was merely something I was doing on my own time - in the evenings and on weekends," Mr. Foy said.

And he said the $16,000 he charged them for the work was fair given the large scope of the job.

"I tried to help the Furbert family," he said. "The amount of money they told me they were being charged to do it they could not afford."Mr. Foy said he made calls to Planning to try and determine if that department had old drawings before he told them to think about whether they wanted him to do the work personally.

"They were dealing with me as an individual purely for the plans only," he said.

"I spent a lot of time on it. It's a complicated site and it's three stories. The place has to be re-measured in total. I spent several weekends and evenings working there and I gave them a fair price."

He added he had not misled the Furberts in any manner.

"In no way was it intended to be misleading to the Furberts or in anyway taking advantage of them at all. I'm very sorry they decided to take this route."

Mr. Foy said the matter will be heard in full in court.

On Friday the Royal Gazette reported that current BHC property officer Terrence Smith was listing the BHC office phone as the main contact number for his private architectural services business.

Business cards for his company Architectural Design Services list the BHC line as well as Mr. Smith's cell phone and pager as contact numbers although under the code of conduct for government employees, workers are not to engage in outside work unless they have permission from their employer.

The Royal Gazette was unable to confirm whether Mr. Smith had such permission and he did not return phone calls from reporters for comment on the story.

Mr. Foy told The Royal Gazette however, that there was no policy at BHC saying employees could not freelance when he worked there.

He said BHC was aware he did freelance work on his own time and he was not breaking any rules with them to do so.

"I draw plans for folks," he said. "It was talked about but there was nothing to say that I couldn't do it."