A former interim executive director of the Wynwood Business Improvement District was charged with theft of more than $192,000 from the Miami arts district organization.
Florentino Antonio Diaz, 45, allegedly siphoned funds from Wynwood BID bank accounts to his personal accounts, concealing the diversion of the money by superimposing the names of vendors over his own name in bank statements sent to BID’s accountant, according to an arrest warrant by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.
Diaz was charged with 26 counts of third degree grand theft, one for each of the questionable wire transfers from the BID’s TD Bank account to his own Citibank account, as well as one count each of second degree grand theft, scheme to defraud and forgery. Diaz, whose bond was set at $46,000, could not be reached for comment.
The Wynwood BID, an independent government agency of the city of Miami formed in 2013, represents more than 400 property owners in the roughly 50-block Wynwood Arts District in Miami. Led by a board that often includes local real estate players, the BID had a role in Wynwood’s growth and redevelopment over the past decade and a half. It levies assessments on member property owners for neighborhood improvements such as strescapes and safety.
The dominoes in Diaz’s alleged scheme started falling in the spring of last year when the BID discovered $46,336 was missing from its accounts and found Diaz had forged the BID’s vice chair’s signature in a letter directing the bank to transfer the funds to his personal account.
At the time, the BID had decided to move its funds from TD Bank to Banesco USA. Diaz was put in charge of the transition. In June of last year, an accountant for the BID alerted the improvement district’s Vice Chair Daniel Whyte that a $46,336 TD Bank interest payment was missing, according to the warrant. It was discovered that Diaz had presented TD Bank a letter with a BID letterhead and Whyte’s forged signature, directing the bank to disburse the interest payment check directly to Diaz’s account, the warrant says.
After police were contacted, investigators subpoenaed and analyzed TD Bank accounts dating back to 2023, discovering 26 more questionable transfers for a total of $146,216 from the BID’s accounts at TD Bank to Diaz’s personal account at Citibank. Diaz had managed to hide the allegedly fraudulent transfers from the BID by submitting doctored monthly statements that superimposed the names of legitimate BID vendors over his own name as the recipient of the funds, the warrant says.
The BID was recertified in 2023 for 10 years and was expected to collect $1.7 million per year, with 228 affidavits certified.
Diaz is accused of stealing $192,553 from the BID.
Diaz was the BID’s interim executive director from September 2024 until he resigned last May, with his tenure officially ending in June. Previously, Diaz also was a project manager for the BID.
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