A property manager and a contractor were arrested Thursday in connection with an alleged kickback scheme that prosecutors say drained repair funds from a 288-unit Hialeah condominium complex, leaving the repair project stalled. Condo owners at Venetian Gardens at Country Club of Miami are now seeking help as the repair project remains paused.
Carlos Jose Mejia, 51, the property manager for Venetian Gardens, faces one count of organized scheme to defraud over $50,000 and 10 counts of receiving kickbacks under the Florida Condominium Act, according to Local 10 News. Contractor Richard Thomas Murray, 62, faces one count of organized scheme to defraud over $50,000. Both men were taken into custody following a joint investigation by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. Venetian Gardens itself sits at 18001 Northwest 68th Avenue in Hialeah and spans 21 two-story and three-story buildings, according to The Real Deal.
A condo owner spoke out following the arrests, describing a building that needs help, according to CBS News Miami. The repair project was halted, citing a lack of funds, leaving the work paused.
How a Cut-Out Commission Unraveled the Scheme
The investigation traces back to June 2025, when roofing salesman John Joseph Kenney filed a complaint stating he had been cut out of a contract commission. The report notes that Kenney had initially introduced Mejia to Murray expecting a referral commission, and after being cut out, he uncovered loan paperwork and cancelled checks showing payments flowing between the two men, prompting investigators to dig further.
What they found, per the same account, were financial subpoenas revealing 10 checks totaling approximately $186,445 issued from Murray's entity, US Murray Holdings Inc., to Mejia. Eight checks were issued between October 2024 and May 2025, followed by two additional checks in July and September 2025. Investigators found no evidence any of it was ever repaid. The payments were reportedly disbursed after Venetian Gardens released association funds to Murray's construction company.
New State Law Raises the Stakes for Condo Managers
The charges against Mejia and Murray arrive under a stiffened legal framework. Florida House Bill 1021, which took effect in July 2024, overhauled Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes to establish explicit criminal penalties for condominium managers and board members who accept kickbacks or fail to disclose conflicts of interest, as Hoodline has reported. Under Florida's Communications Fraud Act, an organized scheme to defraud involving $50,000 or more is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in state prison, statutory fines, and mandatory restitution.
Part of a Broader Miami-Dade Crackdown
The Venetian Gardens case fits a pattern of intensifying enforcement across the county. In August 2026, Miami-Dade law enforcement announced Operation Sundown, charging six individuals in an alleged $5.8 million fraud scheme that targeted five condominium associations using fake invoices and shell management companies. That statewide push for stricter association oversight followed the $11 million fraud at the 18,000-resident Hammocks HOA in Miami-Dade, where former board president Marglli Gallego pleaded guilty and received a seven-year prison sentence in April 2026.
The renewed scrutiny also coincides with a shift in local law enforcement priorities. Following the installation of Miami-Dade's first elected sheriff in nearly 60 years in January 2025, county law enforcement directed the Organized Crime Bureau's Real Estate Fraud Squad to prioritize HOA and condominium embezzlement investigations countywide. The dedicated squad was tasked with tackling financial crimes affecting residential communities and vulnerable board members.
For now, Venetian Gardens residents are left with an unresolved repair project and stalled construction. Whether the complex will secure new funding to finish the work — and how Mejia and Murray will plead to the felony charges against them — remains to be seen.
