Marglli Gallego with map of Hammocks (Eleventh Circuit Court, Getty)
5 persons ended up billed with managing a enormous fraud that allegedly looted a lot more than $1 million from the coffers of South Florida’s most important householders association.
The Miami-Dade State Attorneys’ Business on Tuesday arrested previous and latest board members of the Hammocks HOA for their alleged roles in the scheme. The arrests are a continuation of an investigation courting again to 2017 when Hammocks residents raised problems about affiliation reserve money staying depleted all through the leadership of previous board president Marglli Gallego, in accordance to an arrest affidavit dated Nov. 9.
The Hammocks is a collection of 40 residential communities in southwest Miami-Dade County that involves about 6,500 one-family members residences, apartments and townhouses, and is collectively home to additional than 18,000 residents. The area spans about 6,500 acres, approximately among Southwest 120th and 88th streets and in between Southwest 147th and 162nd avenues.
Gallego, 41, was 1st arrested in April of previous 12 months on charges that she misappropriated $60,000 from the property owners association. On Tuesday, prosecutors introduced new expenses in opposition to her, which include racketeering, structured scheme to defraud, money laundering, grand theft and fabricating physical proof.
Also arrested on Tuesday were being board member Myriam Rodgers, 76 former board member Yoleidis Lopez Garcia, 47 board president Monica Isabel Ghilardi, 52 and Gallego’s spouse, Jose Antonio Gonzalez, 45.
Via a “web of deceit,” they funneled cash — which include cash paid by residents for their HOA dues — from the board’s coffers, Miami-Dade State Legal professional Katherine Fernandez Rundle reported at a press conference on Tuesday.
Component of the plan included allegedly bogus payments from the HOA, at times with Gallego or some others who have been charged signing the checks, supposedly for expert services rendered to the residential communities — even nevertheless the suppliers did no perform. Some of the resources had been then allegedly channeled back again to Gallego, in accordance to the arrest affidavit. Two of the businesses that posed as suppliers, Superb Operate & Solutions and Cima Alternatives, were being led by Gonzalez.
Since 2017, Superb Operate gained $1.2 million from the HOA, furthermore an additional $261,832, that also was HOA dollars but was funneled via other intended distributors, the affidavit says. Cima obtained $49,563 of HOA money from December 2020 to this past August.
A different seller initially testified in October 2020 that his firms supplied publish-Hurricane Irma cleanup companies. But in a different sworn statement last year, he stated he had lied, and that his organizations by no means did any operate for the HOA, in accordance to the arrest affidavit.
Hammocks residents “are the legitimate victims of the alleged thefts that have been uncovered through our investigations,” Fernandez Rundle reported. “They diverted the revenue of hardworking family members, retirees and their neighbors into the pockets of Ms. Gallego and her husband.”
The most up-to-date prices are barely the only allegedly shadowy dealings by Hammocks’ management. Due to the fact the investigation started, they have persistently pushed again on court authorities’ subpoenas for spending plan records, and quoted prosecutors tens of 1000’s of dollars in costs to make the files, according to the arrest affidavit.
The HOA also is plagued by disputed board elections, and this year allegedly greater residents’ dues by 400 p.c, the affidavit states.
Attorneys for the defendants could not be achieved for comment or did not straight away reply to a request for comment.
Fernandez Rundle mentioned additional arrests could be in the pipeline.
“This case is not closed,” she reported. “There stays an ongoing felony investigation into all of the routines, not only of these billed folks, but also of other actions undertaken by the HOA board.”
