Article Courtesy of The Tampa Bay Tribune

Published February 23, 2016

A Lakeland woman and her son were arrested Friday after an investigation revealed they stole more than $122,000 from the Cimarron Homeowners Association from 2004 through 2015, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said. Martha Beard, 59, and her son, Matthew Beard, 32, were booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with one count each of grand theft and fraud.

They remain on $30,000 bond ($15,000 bond for each charge). According to their affidavits, Martha Beard was appointed treasurer of the Cimarron HOA in 2003. She had sole custody of the HOA’s debit card and checks its bank account and was responsible for making payments to various businesses on behalf of the HOA. In 2015 she was dismissed as treasurer, after the other board members discovered a $27,000 deficit to the HOA lawn care provider, and responded to TD Bank and found there was less than $50.00 in the Cimarron HOA account, deputies said.

The deficit was previously undiscovered because Martha had falsified documents showing payments to various businesses. The board members were alerted to the deficit by the lawn care provider and contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said they collected evidence that showed Martha and Matthew Bears used the HOA debit card to make multiple items such as food, clothing, mattresses and rental vehicles.

Additionally, Matthew is listed as owner of a business called “Ultra Production Group,” and in 2015 he used the HOA debit card to purchase equipment, vehicles, and signage after he was hired by Lakeland Regional Medical Center to work their “Promise Run” charity event, deputies said.

He also booked a cruise with the card, deputies said. Both Martha and Matthew Beard confessed to using the HOA funds without permission, deputies said. Martha Beard told detectives that for 11 years she attempted to put money back into the account. Detectives found evidence that she made four separate deposits into the account, totaling $12,622.00. Detectives calculated the total amount of funds stolen by Martha and Matthew Beard equaled $122,779.47.