Looking in the Wrong Place
The TIC industry has been tacitly waiting for some rouge TIC sponsor to steal investor money. The wait was for the wrong part of the TIC transaction. Two Qualified Intermediaries - the companies that act as escrow companies so the an investor affecting an exchange does not handle the funds and therefore invalidate the exchange - have stolen investor funds through appropriation of investor funds for other uses. The 180-day exchange period was just too much for these douche bags. I am not sure who are the big QIs, but I am guessing there are a large number of mom-and-pop outfits. I don't see a reason not to use a bank or major escrow firm. The risks, now exposed, are too great.