$55,000 of Kendall condo association money was found in a personal bank account, cops say
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.
Ivonne Leon, 54, worked for Courtesy Property Management for 12 years. One of Courtesy’s clients used to be Royal Palm Place at the Hammocks Condominium Association, 15750 SW 105th Ter., which found through an audit that payments were missing.
An arrest report says $55,810 of those payments had gone into Leon’s bank account.
Leon “subsequently spent the money for her own personal gain and benefit,” the arrest report says.
Leon is charged with organized fraud over $50,000, grand theft from $20,000 to $100,000, and uttering a forged check. After her arrest, she used her right to remain silent and has posted $7,500 bond.
READ MORE: Did a Kendall HOA president collude with relatives to steal from the condo association?
“Every employee theft violates the trust of an employer,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “When the alleged theft impacts a condominium association, it creates numerous layers of mistrust, anger and frustration disrupting the sense of community sought by so many condo residents.”
READ MORE: New arrest made in alleged $2 million fraud scheme at Florida’s largest HOA
The arrest report says Leon, as a CPM administrative assistant, collected payments from Royal Palm Place owners and tenants from November 2019 through October 2022. A Wednesday email from CPM indicated Leon wasn’t under direct company supervision, saying her “alleged misappropriation of funds” happened “while she was working directly for the Association.”
The arrest report says an audit of association money revealed “numerous payments” hadn’t been deposited in association accounts.
Some money orders and cashiers checks given to Leon, the auditor found, “were made payable to the association and, subsequently, altered and made payable to cash or to [Leon].”
An ensuing check of Leon’s account found the money, the arrest report said. CPM, Royal Palm’s management company since September 2007, said it fired Leon on Dec. 2, 2022. Their agreement with Royal Palm ended on Feb. 28, 2023.
“Despite rigorous safeguards, including a lockbox system to prevent unauthorized withdrawals, a breach of trust occurred at our Royal Palm Place location,” a CPM email to the Miami Herald said. “A former employee exploited a vulnerability in the management of security deposit accounts. These accounts are designed to safeguard funds until they are rightfully returned to homeowners upon their departure. This individual engaged in unauthorized financial transactions that went undetected until the termination of the management account.
“The fraudulent activities came to light when homeowners requested their security deposits, which were found to be missing.”
CBM said it’s going to a completely electronic system so no any deposited funds won’t touch human hands.
This story was originally published July 24, 2024 at 3:18 PM.
