A Lake Ariel woman faces charges after an investigation revealed she had fraudulent permits for entering The Hideout, Wayne County District Attorney A.G. Howell announced in a news release…..A Hideout public safety officer discovered an overturned vehicle Jan. 22 while patrolling the gated community, per the news release. While rendering aid, the officer found Hideout […]
Colorado homeowners claim HOA management company that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars is connected to a new group
More than $2 million is how much a Colorado judge ordered Mastino Management and owner Kim Bacon to pay to an HOA that she was responsible for operating. “We started digging around right around as soon as all this all came to light,” Craig Haynes, a former resident, said. Court records show that last spring, […]
‘Total control:’ $1 million Florida condo scandal sparks manhunt, fee spikes for residents (FL)
A former condo president in New Smyrna Beach has been accused of taking about $1 million from a condo association, leading to huge fee hikes for residents, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. In a news release, deputies said that an investigation into the theft began after the sheriff’s office received complaints in April 2024 […]
Cedar City property manager faces civil lawsuit following felony charges (UT)
A Cedar City property manager already facing multiple felony charges for alleged financial crimes is now the subject of a civil lawsuit seeking to recover more than $750,000 that was allegedly misappropriated. The lawsuit, filed in 5th District Court by Velocity Holdings LLC, claims that Blake Floyd Cozzens and his company, Blake Cozzens Holdings Inc., […]
A tragic ending for woman police attempted to arrest (CO)
A woman fired in January for embezzling from an Aspen homeowners association died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday night after police attempted to serve her with an arrest warrant for stealing from a Basalt property management and construction company. Read the article…………………………….
How HOA Board Members Can Avoid Cyber Fraud (NC)
Homeowner’s Associations (HOAs) have become prime targets for cybercriminals. Why? HOAs often handle large amounts of money but may use less stringent security measures. This makes them an appealing opportunity for cybercriminals who exploit vulnerabilities in vendor networks, email systems, and other communication platforms. Read the article…………………………….
Bookkeeping scandal erupts at homeowners association (CO)
A bookkeeper recently resigned from an Aspen homeowners association after she confessed to theft and reimbursed them with a cashier’s check for just over $200,000, according to an email and people knowledgeable about the situation. The board of directors representing the HOA for Burlingame Ranch I Condominiums accepted the payment from Elizabeth Stewart, who confessed […]
Cedar City residents respond to allegations of HOA manager embezzling funds (UT)
A Cedar City community told ABC4 they were shocked to find a notice detailing allegations that their HOA manager was in custody for embezzlement. Video news report……………………..
Cedar City property manager facing felony charges for alleged financial crimes (UT)
A Cedar City property manager is facing multiple felony charges following an investigation that uncovered alleged financial irregularities involving a homeowners association account. Blake Floyd Cozzens, 39, was arrested Wednesday and charged with 10 counts of unlawful fiduciary dealing, each a second-degree felony. Read the article…………………………….
NJ woman accused of scamming $1M as condo property manager
A 43-year-old Morris County woman has been accused of scamming more than $1 million from her employer while working as an on-site property manager at a condo complex. Martinia Heath, of Morris Plains, was charged with second-degree counts of theft by deception and impersonation, as well as one count each of third- and fourth-degree forgery. […]
Grand Lake Homeowners Association hit with $100,000 theft (OK)
A Grove woman accused of stealing over $100,000 from a Grand Lake gated community homeowners association is released from jail after posting bail, online court records show. Christina Antoinette Dentmon, 42, is charged with embezzlement in Delaware County District Court in Jay. Court records show that between July 9, 2018, and July 8, 2024, Dentmon […]
Man who led Las Vegas HOA takeover scheme has prison sentence commuted by Biden (NV)
The ringleader of a scheme to take control of Las Vegas homeowners associations from 2003 to 2009 is among the 1,499 people who had their sentences commuted by President Joe Biden on Thursday. Read the article…………………………….
Alleged Santa Rosa fraud scheme, now with criminal charges, reflects worsening wildfire and insurance crises (CA)
After the 2019 and 2020 wildfires, Vallen Cooper and her son Chad handled insurance claims worth millions of dollars for smoke and ash cleanup at the Villa Rosa condominium complex in Santa Rosa and other properties they managed. Chad Cooper’s company, Accurate Janitorial & Maintenance, which he ran with his fiancee, handled the work. The […]
Woman sentenced to 2 years in prison for embezzling over $1M from HOA (VA)
A Warrenton woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for wire fraud of over a million dollars from homeowner associations she managed. The suspect, 60-year-old Rose Kasande Bailey, formed Rosewood Management and Consulting Services, LLC, a property management company in Fairfax that specialized in property management for HOAs, according to court documents, in […]
8th arrest made in Hammocks HOA fraud scheme involving $6 million theft, officials say (FL)
An eighth suspect has been arrested in connection with the alleged multimillion-dollar theft scheme that drained funds from the Hammocks Homeowners Association. Jesus Cue, 63, the HOA’s controller and accountant, faces multiple felony charges, including racketeering, unlawful compensation and money laundering, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. Read the article…………………………….
Woman accused of stealing $650,000 from Colorado HOAs
A woman has been arrested by Johnstown Police after a monthslong investigation into numerous reports of fraudulent activity from multiple northern Colorado homeowners associations, police said on Monday. Sandra Oldenburg, 48, was the lone suspect in the case, police said. She is a representative and partner in Poudre Property Services, a.k.a. RCE Inc., and NOCO […]
MA woman is accused of stealing $75K from Norwalk condo association through wire scam
A Massachusetts woman allegedly defrauded a Norwalk condo association run by a Stamford company out of $75,000 through a wire scam, according to an arrest warrant. Iara Maximo, 66, of Revere, Mass., was arrested by Stamford police on a first-degree larceny charge that they say stemmed from a wide-reaching scheme to steal funds and convert […]
EmeraldBay property manager who brought condo corruption to Key Biscayne gets probation (FL)
Former EmeraldBay property manager Maria Rodriguez – the person who brought condo corruption to Key Biscayne’s doorstop – received a sentence of three years of reporting probation on Friday, where under a plea agreement she won’t even have a criminal record if she meets all conditions. Read the article…………………………….
Unraveling the Fraud Triangle: Safeguarding Your HOA from Deception
Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and value of your residential community. However, with responsibility comes the potential for financial mismanagement and fraud. Understanding the fraud triangle and implementing appropriate protective measures can safeguard your HOA and ensure it operates with transparency and accountability. Read the article…………………………….
How did scammers cheat two Columbia County homeowners’ associations out of $30,000? (GA)
Scamming impostors used sham emails to chisel the manager of two Grovetown neighborhood associations out of nearly $30,000. Community Connect Partners is the manager of the Estates of Deer Hollow subdivision off Wrightsboro Road in Grovetown. An CCP employee told the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday that she had received emails doctored to resemble […]
Judge sets $50,000 bond for man charged with racketeering in 2022 Hammocks HOA investigation (FL)
A man arrested for alleged connection in the Hammocks Homeowners Association multimillion-dollar fraud investigation appeared in bond court Friday. Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday the arrest of Ivan Dario Diez. According to prosecutors, Diez is one of five HOA board members accused of racketeering and stealing more than a million dollars from residents. […]
Authorities announce additional arrest in Hammocks HOA fraud investigation (FL)
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle is holding a press conference Thursday to announce the most recent arrest in the ongoing investigation into the Hammocks Community Association. Authorities booked Kevin Leonardo Alzate, 32, the cousin of former homeowners association president Marglli Gallego, into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center last December. He’s facing charges of […]
Aventura condo association president charged with money laundering to pay bond with step-daughter’s bank account (FL)
A former Aventura condo president, accused of a laundry list of crimes, is hoping to bond out of jail. After spending weeks behind bars, a judge allowed Gregori Arzumanov to go back to the same condo that, prosecutors said, he stole from. Read the article…………………………….
Home sales are being completed at fraud-tied San Jose condo complex (CA)
Housing sales are being completed in a San Jose condominium complex that’s one of several properties mired in a massive Bay Area real estate fraud case, raising hopes for investors who lost money. Read the article…………………………….
$15,000 check raises new questions about former Aventura condo president accused of stealing $1.5 million from association (FL)
There are new questions after the arrest of a South Florida condo president. They center around a check obtained by 7Investigates. 7’s Heather Walker investigates. Katherine Fernandez Rundle/Miami-Dade State Attorney: “It turns out there was trouble in paradise.” That trouble centered around the president of an Aventura condo association seen here handcuffed and arrested. Read the […]
Annapolis beach community roiled by president’s theft charges: ‘He betrayed us all’ (MD)
Oyster Harbor, one of 62 “special tax districts” in the county, collects $400,000 a year from a surcharge tacked onto residents’ property bills. The additional revenue is supposed to go to clearly defined community projects, like snow removal or shoreline erosion. But the county relies on community associations, usually run by volunteers, to enforce how […]
Aventura condo board president arrested, accused of racketeering, stealing $1.5 million (FL)
Aventura police arrested a condominium board president on several felony charges, including racketeering and money laundering, on Tuesday after they accused him of embezzling more than $1.5 million from unit owners since 2017. According to an online biography, Arzumanov, originally from the former Soviet country of Georgia, has served as the association president since 2008. […]
Why you should pay special attention to closing your books this year
I’ve been posting the condo and HOA news for over 20 years now. During the first 6 years, I might have run across 3 or 4 cases of people stealing from an association. During the last 2 years, I’ve seen over 20. And most of them haven’t been for small amounts. The scams were often […]
Embezzlement uncovered at Dunvegan Woods: Condo board alleges late manager stole $200K (NH)
Condo owners at Dunvegan Woods are reeling after learning the late president of their association allegedly embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaving the complex with only a few thousand dollars in the bank…..According to a letter sent in mid-September to Dunvegan condominium owners by the board of directors, following the death of long-time association […]
Fraud Alert – Beneficial Ownership Reporting
The Beneficial Ownership Reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act requires businesses to provide information (including personally identifiable information) to the federal government to combat fraud, terrorism, and money laundering. However, the passage of this Act has created additional opportunities for fraudsters. FinCEN has issued a warning about a scam targeting individuals and companies subject to […]
Woman who embezzled more than $375K from Upper Gwynedd employer gets probation (PA)
A Berks County woman who stole more than $375,000 from her Upper Gwynedd employer avoided being sentenced to jail time on felony theft-related charges and received seven years’ probation for her crime…..Butt also must repay $375,928 in restitution to the Gwynedd Office Condominium Association at 311 Sumneytown Pike within seven years, where she worked as […]
‘This is not right’: Albuquerque police investigating HOA president’s paychecks
Members of an Albuquerque homeowner association are now paying much closer attention to what the association is doing with their money. And they want other HOA members to learn from their experience. Fed up with how their neighborhood looked, a few members asked to look at the association’s finances. They wanted to know what their […]
Understanding HOA Embezzlement: How to Protect Your Community
HOA embezzlement is an issue that can impact a community’s financial well-being. When funds collected through HOA dues are misappropriated, it reduces available resources and affects trust within the community. Homeowners associations (HOAs) manage and maintain shared spaces, and the dues paid by residents are essential for these functions. Understanding HOA embezzlement, recognizing its signs, […]
HOA Fraud is a Hardly Detected and Thriving Cancer of Our Society
The most affordable homes can be the ones built as part of a homeowner’s association (HOA) – nothing wrong with that. The surroundings are always maintained through the HOA and the only thing homeowners need to worry about is the interior of the house, as well as paying regular monthly dues to the HOA. But […]
HOA theft suspect skips second hearing (AZ)
The former general manager of Villas West failed to attend a second change of plea hearing Monday, prompting a judge to affirm the arrest warrant he issued last week. Jesus Daniel Sotelo, who is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the residents association, five other HOAs in Arizona and a bookkeeping service, had been […]
Smiths Station woman arrested for allegedly using HOA money for personal use (AL)
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Smiths Station woman on theft charges. On July 31, investigators received reports of theft of property from the Shadow Wood subdivision Home Owner’s Association in Smiths Station. According to officials, a member of the HOA advised that the previous president, Latoya Cook, used approximately $11,000 from the HOA […]
Florida Senate GOP candidate faces September trial in $48K theft case involving an HOA
A candidate for Florida Senate this August is facing charges of grand theft in Orange County involving a homeowner’s association, with a trial scheduled to start in September. Cheryl Blancett, 63, is facing charges that stem from a years-long investigation into the theft of nearly $48,000 from a homeowners association for a neighborhood in east […]
$55,000 of Kendall condo association money was found in a personal bank account, cops say (FL)
A former property management worker for a Kendall condo association was arrested Monday, accused of stealing more than $55,000 of community money that was found in her personal bank account. Read the article…………………………….
Former president of Warren condo association accused of stealing $140K (OH)
A Warren man has pleaded “not guilty” to a grand theft indictment accusing him of stealing more than $140,000 from a condominium association…..According to an indictment handed up by the county grand jury, Rule allegedly used deception to steal $140,218 from the Surrey Point II Homeowners Association when he was the organization’s president. Read […]
Employee accused of stealing thousands from condo association in The Hammocks (FL)
A 54-year-old woman is accused of a multi-year fraud scheme involving a condominium association she worked for in The Hammocks. Ivonne Leon was an administrative assistant for the Royal Palm Place Condominium Association, responsible for collecting payments from residents and depositing into the association’s account, an arrest report stated. However, Leon is accused of depositing […]
Five Steps to Protect a Community Against Fraud & Embezzlement
The Board of Directors of an owner’s association wears many hats: decision maker, mediator, judge, and community organizer. Quite possibly the most important role a Board member serves is that of a fiduciary. A fiduciary is a person or entity put in a position of trust to protect the interests of a third party. While […]
Woman’s indictment includes HOA thefts (VA)
A Frederick County woman was indicted Thursday for allegedly embezzling thousands of dollars from two parent teacher organizations and a homeowner’s organization. Shawn Marie Bianco, 44, of the 100 block of Georgetowne Court in Stephens City, was indicted by a grand jury for 25 charges of embezzlement from three different groups, according to documents. Read […]
Former Galveston condo manager charged in $188,000 theft (TX)
A former island property manager is behind bars after being charged with felony theft in connection to embezzlement of about $190,000 from a condominium complex over about seven years, according to court documents. Read the article…………………………….
Up North condo owners accuse ski resort of rental property management fraud (MI)
A group of rental condominium owners at three Boyne resorts in Northern Michigan have filed a lawsuit accusing the company of price gouging and fraud. (Behind Crain’s subscription paywall………….)
Ex-HOA chief accused of theft (OH)
Court documents state Rule is accused of having submitted falsified invoices to the HOA’s management company to collect reimbursements that amounted to $140,218. Investigators verified the listed vendors and examined the receipts before determining the payments were for work that was never performed. Some of the invoices submitted were for nonexistent companies. Read the article…………………………….
Jersey City Man Charged in Theft from Union City Homeowners Association (NJ)
Authorities have charged a Jersey City man in connection with the theft of funds from a Union City homeowners association. According to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit arrested 39-year-old Eric Li yesterday at the prosecutor’s office in Secaucus. Read the article…………………………….
Ex-Hilton Head POA treasurer convicted after embezzling over $200K from reserve accounts (SC)
With restitution finally paid, a former treasurer for a Hilton Head POA who was caught embezzling over $200,000 from the association’s reserve accounts will dodge jail time with a three-month probation sentence. The woman siphoned funds from the community for more than four years without raising any eyebrows. Read the article…………………………….
SC judge gives woman 5 more years for ‘egregious’ $1.1M theft from Rock Hill development
Besides GRH, Hill also stole money from the homeowners association at Riverwalk, prosecutors and company officials said in court. Hill was in charge of the money for eight months in 2020 before being caught. “She has been given chances to change her behavior, but she has chosen fraud and dishonesty,” GRH employee Debbie McMillan said […]
Delaware Hides Embezzlement Plot for Over a Year
The State of Delaware hired Brittingham in February 2019. That summer, he was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing almost $43,000 from his homeowner’s association by writing checks to a company he owned, NEWAGE Management LLC, the news outlet reported. Read the article…………………………….
Best Practices to Combat Payment Fraud
Community association management companies are under siege from high-tech con artists determined to rip them off. From phishing schemes and business email compromise attacks to account takeovers and vendor impersonation, fraudsters have become more brazen and sophisticated. Read the article…………………………….