community association fraud Tag Archives

April 24, 2022

Firm’s Miami Herald Real Estate Column: “Possible $8M Fraud Against Florida Community Associations is a Wake-Up Call”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s latest Miami Herald “Real Estate Counselor” column authored by Gary M. Mars featured in today’s Neighbors section is titled “Possible $8M Fraud Against Florida Community Associations is a Wake-Up Call.” The article, which is the second of two parts, is on a developing case from Southwest Florida that appears to be one of the largest incidents of fraud and embezzlement ever inflicted on community associations in the state. It reads:

. . . An excellent Naples Daily News/The News-Press investigation has found that the associations are reporting more than $8 million has been taken from their accounts. Association directors have told the journalists that APMS took sole control of their Wells Fargo Bank accounts by telling them to sign new signature cards but then never submitting them to the bank.

The ordeal that these communities are now undergoing is horrific, and many of us who provide essential services for associations in Florida have been impacted by this case. We shake our heads in disgust at the brazen actions that appear to have taken place, while also hoping that we have successfully helped every association we work with to avoid the potential for any such malfeasance.

The association board members and bankers that appear to have been hoodwinked in this case had in all likelihood grown to trust APMS and its owners wholeheartedly. That would likely explain how the state-licensed property management company allegedly succeeded in securing, submitting and executing all of the necessary documentation in order to remove the community associations and their directors from their own bank accounts. Apparently, the necessary red flags did not go up, resulting in the success of the scheme.

April 10, 2022

Firm’s Miami Herald Real Estate Column: “Southwest Florida Community Associations Appear to Fall Victim to Massive Fraud”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s latest Miami Herald “Real Estate Counselor” column authored by Gary M. Mars appears in today’s “Neighbors” section under the headline “Southwest Florida Community Associations Appear to Fall Victim to Massive Fraud.” The article focuses on what appears to be one of the largest cases of fraud and embezzlement ever committed against Florida community associations that is now unfolding in Southwest Florida. Gary’s article reads:

. . . Association directors, and also to some extent the property managers they retain, have control over communities’ purse strings, and for some enclaves we are talking about multiple millions of dollars per year. Such amounts under the control of so few have made condominiums and HOAs a favorite target of crooks and fraudsters for generations. Swindlers have embezzled millions of dollars from communities, before getting caught and facing the music in the vast majority of cases.

An excellent Naples Daily News/The News-Press investigation that remains ongoing appears to reveal sadly yet another example of the type of rampant fraud that can be inflicted on communities.

The case stems from an initial lawsuit filed by the Compass Point South at Windstar condominium association in Naples last April against American Property Management Services, owner Orlando Miserandino Ortiz, and his wife and co-owner Lina Munoz Posada. It alleges that the association and its board members lost access to their Wells Fargo Bank accounts because APMS did not add their names to the accounts, effectively locking them out.

The case was expanded in January with a new lawsuit listing 24 additional plaintiffs and new allegations, including that there is good cause to believe that the owners have left the U.S. and have been residing in Colombia for more than a year. Both complaints allege Miserandino placed funds in accounts that only he could access, preventing the associations from keeping tabs on or accessing their money. According to interviews by the journalists with the association directors, APMS took sole control of their accounts by telling them to sign signature cards but then never submitting them to the bank.

November 16, 2020

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

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

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.

April 21, 2016

Roberto Blanch Conducts Live Spanish TV Interview on Association Fraud

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

Firm partner Roberto C. Blanch, who has written extensively about community association fraud in this blog and recently authored an article on the topic for the op-ed page of the Miami Herald, appeared on Spanish-language television network AméricaTeVé’s popular “A Fondo” live show hosted by Pedro Sevcec yesterday at 8 p.m. He was joined by one of the two journalists from el Nuevo Herald behind the newspaper’s investigative series exposing possible fraud at several South Florida condominium communities. The segment specifically focused on board of directors election fraud, and several cases of suspected fraud were discussed.

Our firm congratulates Roberto for sharing his insights into this important issue with the network’s viewers. Click below to watch the Spanish-language segment.

April 18, 2016

Fight Against Condo Fraud Heightens

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

An article in the Miami Herald that appeared on Saturday, April 16, reported that more than 250 South Florida condo residents teamed up to march against condo fraud last week. The protestors, who marched on the streets of Doral, demanded that authorities reform condo laws in order to prevent fraudsters from taking advantage of their communities. The protest included residents from several areas in Miami-Dade County, including Kendall, North Miami Beach and Aventura, as well as from Broward County.

Our firm has been very active in spotlighting this growing problem throughout the years in this blog and in our complimentary educational seminars for association directors, members and managers. Recently, firm partner Roberto C. Blanch authored an article that appeared in the op-ed page of the Herald calling for greater law enforcement and regulatory efforts to combat association fraud. Roberto wrote:

Florida is the state with the most community associations in the country, with more than 47,000, and it has now become imperative for the state’s lawmakers, regulators and law enforcement agencies to change their collective mindset in their approach toward combating community association fraud, theft and embezzlement.

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