association theft

An article authored by the firm’s Nicole R. Kurtz is featured as the “Board of Contributors” expert guest commentary column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper. The article, which is titled “Recent Arrests for Community Association Theft Illustrate Laws Working, Associations Must Do Their Part,” focuses on several recent incidents of embezzlement at Florida community associations, and it discusses the impact of the 2017 changes to the Florida laws to add teeth to condominium fraud and enforcement measures. Her article reads:

. . . In Kissimmee, Florida, the second arrest of a former HOA property manager was covered as part of a series of investigative reports by WFTV (Channel 9, ABC). The reports chronicle how Sherry Raposo, who had previously been arrested on charges related to having her ex-cop-turned-felon boyfriend patrol the Turnberry Reserve community and using the HOA’s funds to bail him out of jail in North Carolina, was arrested yet again on new charges of fraud involving the accounts she oversaw while serving as a property manager for the community. The station also uncovered similar allegations of embezzlement against her from a different community in Seminole County, leading to the possibility of another investigation into Raposo and thousands of dollars that were moved from that HOA’s bank account.

Theft by a former property manager at the tony Parkshore Plaza condominium tower in downtown St. Petersburg also made headlines recently in the pages of the Tampa Bay Times daily newspaper. The report indicated that Abby Elliott was found guilty and had been sentenced to two years in prison for using the condo association’s funds to pay for vacations, airfares, salon treatments and other personal expenses.

Reports of association theft, fraud and embezzlement are no surprise to the South Florida community association attorneys at our firm, but two similar reports on the same day from communities on both the east and west coasts of the country drew our attention.

The media reports of the incidents, which both ran on Thursday, Jan. 17th, are very similar. The one in the Nisqually Valley News newspaper in the state of Washington chronicles how the Clearwood Community Association filed a complaint alleging its former bookkeeper embezzled nearly $300,000. The suit against Dolanna K. Burnett, the former bookkeeper, and her husband claims that she wrote multiple checks to herself and covered it up in the accounting system dating back to 2014.

The newspaper article states Burnett had a previous conviction in 2014 for theft, identity theft and forgery. She used counterfeit refund checks totaling $17,000 while she was working for the Tacoma Health Department and deposited them into her personal account. This information was discovered last summer and taken to the Clearwood Board of Directors, which stood by its decision to retain her and continued to use her as its bookkeeper.

This led to an outcry by the unit owners, eventually prompting a majority of the board members and Burnett to resign from their posts.

By the end of the year, the board hired a forensic accountant and discovered evidence that the former employee had been stealing significant sums from the association’s general account for years. It turned the case over to the county sheriff’s office and filed a civil suit against Burnett.

Articles Tagged with association theft

Article by Nicole Kurtz in Today’s Daily Business Review: “Recent Arrests for Community Association Theft Illustrate Laws Working, Associations Must Do Their Part”

Similar Reports of Association Theft in Both Coasts on Same Day Send Message to Boards of Directors Everywhere