Six Charged in $5.8M Miami-Dade Condo Fraud Targeting Elderly Boards

Six people are facing charges after Miami-Dade investigators say they siphoned more than $5.8 million from five condominium associations over the course of a two-year investigation, using a network of companies and phony invoices to drain accounts overseen mostly by elderly, Spanish-speaking board members. Authorities say the alleged mastermind, 60-year-old Juan Awais, used his property management companies to gain the trust of association boards before diverting their money.

Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz announced the arrests at a news conference, saying the case grew out of a two-year investigation into theft from five separate condo associations across the county, according to NBC 6 South Florida. The associations targeted include Lago Grande, Mira Villa Condo Association, Country Lake Manors, Los Sueños Condo, and Samari Lake East Condo Association, the station reports. Cordero-Stutz said the $5.8 million figure could climb significantly higher as the investigation continues, and she expects more arrests.

Investigators allege the suspects billed vendors for services that had already been paid for, and in some cases sent invoices for work that was never performed at all. The station reports that one suspect pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars from an insurance payment that was meant to repair a building damaged by Hurricane Irma. Cordero-Stutz said board members who spoke only Spanish were among those targeted, and that hundreds of families across Miami-Dade County were affected by the scheme.

Charges Against the Six Defendants

Juan Awais, described by investigators as the alleged mastermind of the criminal enterprise, faces charges of grand theft, organized fraud, money laundering, and racketeering. The same set of charges has been filed against Delma Alonso, Johana Barrios Perez-Tapia, Michael Irizarry, Juliet Ramos, and Cynthea Louise Waltz, according to the same report. The investigation remains ongoing, and Cordero-Stutz said Miami-Dade condominium and HOA residents have the right to know where their association fees and special assessments are going.

A Documented History Before the Arrest

Awais's arrest is not the first time his name has surfaced in connection with South Florida property management disputes. A 2016 investigation by el Nuevo Herald and Univision 23 identified him as the former vice president of Florida's Property Management Group Corp., a firm that dissolved after owner complaints. State corporate records showed the company became inactive in November 2015 before its contracts were transferred to a new entity, Sunshine Management Services LLC, which Awais formed to administer properties including Los Sueños Condominiums — one of the same associations named in the current case.

That same 2016 reporting found Miami-Dade County recorded 566 of the 1,908 condominium complaints filed statewide in 2015, nearly 30 percent, making it the top county in Florida for reported association financial and election irregularities. That history underscores why local law enforcement has recently ramped up scrutiny of the industry.

A County-Wide Enforcement Push

Since being sworn in as Miami-Dade's first elected sheriff in nearly 60 years in January 2025, Cordero-Stutz has directed the Organized Crime Bureau's Real Estate Fraud Squad to prioritize HOA and condo embezzlement investigations countywide, according to Miami-Dade County. That priority has already produced other arrests this year: in April, the sheriff's office arrested a property manager at Greynolds Park Club Condominium accused of soliciting and accepting $21,000 in cash and electronic kickbacks from a vendor, facing 37 counts alongside grand theft charges.

The case also follows the state's largest HOA fraud prosecution to date. Former Hammocks Community Association president Marglli Gallego pleaded guilty in April to racketeering and grand theft for stealing more than $11 million from 18,000 residents and was sentenced to seven years in prison, a term prosecutors believe is the longest ever handed down to an HOA board president in the United States.

Tougher Penalties Under State Law

Florida lawmakers overhauled Chapter 718, the Condominium Act, with House Bill 1021 in July 2024, establishing stricter criminal penalties for board members and property managers who engage in kickbacks, falsify records, or fail to disclose conflicts of interest, according to Siegfried Rivera. Under Florida's Communications Fraud Act, Florida Statute § 817.034, an organized scheme to defraud involving $50,000 or more is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison, statutory fines, and full restitution, per Bozanic Law. That law allows prosecutors to aggregate stolen amounts across multiple victims to bring the more serious charge.

This is far from the only condo fraud case Hoodline has tracked in South Florida this year. In February, Miami-Dade prosecutors arrested a Miami Beach condo boss in a $260,000 kickback scheme tied to a building's mandatory 40-year safety recertification, while an Aventura condo association president was arrested in October 2024 on racketeering, money laundering, and grand theft charges for allegedly siphoning more than $1.5 million from unit owners over seven years.

To help residents come forward, especially non-English speakers and elderly homeowners who are frequently targeted in these schemes, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office set up a dedicated reporting channel, [email protected], run directly by its Organized Crime Bureau. With the investigation still active and Cordero-Stutz signaling more arrests could follow, it remains unclear how much of the $5.8 million can ultimately be recovered for the affected associations.