HOA Disputes – Florida Condo Board Charged with Fraud and Theft

The Associated Press reported today that “Several current and former board members on one of Florida’s largest homeowners associations have been charged with stealing more than $2 million of residents’ money.”  Read the Article.  

As a Los Angeles Condo Damage Attorney who sues HOAs for a living, this story does not surprise me.  Board members are in charge of a lot of money and the ability to make decisions that quite often have a series of consequences for owners.  Board members are human beings and don’t always act with good faith.  Moreover, Pretext, is hard to prove at trial as such intent is typically not stated in emails or letters.  HOA Boards should pay attention to such a case nevertheless.  As stated in the article: “A significant part of the investigation centered around board members writing checks, in some cases for hundreds of thousands of dollars, to vendors for services that weren’t actually being provided, prosecutors said. Then the vendors would return laundered money after keeping a portion for themselves.”  Sound familar to any homeowners out there?  I would say yes just based upon the numerous conversations I’ve had with homeowners over the years.

Ultimately, its up to diligent and attentive homeowners to keep their HOA boards honest.  No doubt owner apathy was a major contributer to the above referenced fraud scheme continuing for as long as it did.

If you have an HOA dispute or condo damage, call one of our Los Angeles HOA Dispute Attorneys now for a free case evaluation and consultation.