Article Courtesy of El Nuevo Herald
Translated by Google
By Enrique Flor
Published June 14, 2016
A police initiative to create a network specialized in
the fight against fraud in Miami-Dade condominiums was approved Tuesday by
the county commission.
The proposal to create a network between different police departments in
Miami-Dade was approved by the unanimous vote of the 13 commissioners, in
the midst of a crisis characterized by abuses against residents of several
residential complexes.
"I feel very happy because this is an
important measure to combat those who have dedicated
themselves to commit these outrages step," said Commissioner
Bruno Barreiro, author of the proposal. "This way the eyes
of our police be alert against those who for years have
dedicated themselves to steal money from people who live in
condominiums."
On Tuesday, police chief of Miami Dade, Juan Perez,
expressed satisfaction with the approval of the initiative,
which he described as "a key step" to stop fraud in the
condo.
"The proposal approved [by the commission] allows to further
magnifying glass to those who have devoted years to these
scams," Perez said. "Our department, especially our Economic
Crimes Division, will focus on these investigations and
parallel state representatives will contribute to achieve
legal reforms". |
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Miami-Dade prosecutors and legislators seek solutions to
fraud in condominiums
In its preamble, the resolution presented by Barreiro refers to the
avalanche of complaints of electoral fraud and irregularities in contracts
worth millions ended up benefiting some businesses at the expense of
residents.
In March, a series of newspaper El Nuevo Herald and Univision 23, revealed
the rampant forgery of signatures on the ballots in condominiums The Beach
Club at Fontainebleau and dreams in Hialeah.
This fraud favored, for example, a board was kept in power after having
benefited a company in a $ 5.2 million to repair roofs at The Beach Club.
However, the investigation revealed that the favored company had competed
with two other paper companies.
The investigation also documented the notary fraud in dozens of sworn
statements, notarized by Carmen Aslan, an employee of FM Law Group, a firm
of lawyer Hector Martinez. That law firm generally represents condominium
associations managed by Sunshine Management Services.
The investigations led to the massive mobilization of residents outraged by
the fraud. In the case of The Beach Club, the then members of the board
resigned and canceled its contract with Sunshine Management Services in the
administration of the condominium.
The creation of the police network adds to the legislative initiative of the
Miami-Dade delegation to present a comprehensive reform to combat fraud
condominiums.
State Representative Jose Felix Diaz and Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla
plan to present in November substantial changes to criminalize the
violations detected in several condominiums.
In fact, the last two lawmakers along with Sen. Rene Garcia and
representatives of the legislator Javier Rodriguez this week with Miami-Dade
State-attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, and part of his legal team will
develop initiatives to combat fraud condominiums while working on the
development of legislative reforms.
One of the proposals Fernandez-Rundle aims to create is an elite team like
the prosecution created in 2004 to combat auto insurance fraud in
Miami-Dade.
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