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Article Courtesy of Local 10
News
By Chris Gothner
Published February 15, 2024
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KEY LARGO – A former homeowners association bookkeeper spent nearly $34,000 of
residents’ money on various personal expenses — ranging from bath bombs, bras
and toilet paper to hotels and gynecologist visits — over a two-year span,
deputies say. Now, she’s facing dozens of felony charges in the Florida Keys.
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Local 10 News obtained
the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrest warrant for Peggy
Anne West on Thursday. Authorities arrested her in Orlando
on Monday and the 59-year-old is set to be extradited back
to the Keys.
West was the bookkeeper for the 55+ Silver Shores mobile
home community on Key Largo, deputies said.
According to the warrant, the investigation into West began
in May 2022, when the HOA treasury manager and president
discovered the unauthorized transactions on one of its bank
accounts.
Those charges, they said, came from a Visa card issued to
another employee, who was initially misidentified as the
suspect. |
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Peggy West (Orange County Correction)
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According to the warrant, the HOA’s policy was to only spend $500 on the
card, which was meant to be used on office and project supplies, rather than
“multiple gynecologist visits,” hotels in Miami and Orlando and Amazon
purchases, all of which West is accused of using it for.
Those transactions exceeded the limit and totaled more than $3,000, deputies
said.
The warrant states that West also wrote herself $16,000 in extra paychecks,
entering the expenses in to the HOA’s system as payments for maintenance
vendors. Deputies said they contacted those vendors, who had no records of
the transactions.
Silver Shores also had an Amazon account and West made use of it — for
herself, deputies allege.
They said she made 194 unauthorized purchases on the account.
MCSO Detective Ian Barnett wrote, “Some of those purchases were for a giant
car bow, a child’s princess dress, dog toys, health pills, women’s clothes
(bras, sandals), make-up, children’s toys, Instacart, gas station purchases,
gardening items, drug store purchases, home furnishings, a hotel stay, an
online real estate school, car parts, a Cricket phone (which she was not
authorized to use), Shutterstock (online stock photos) and three payments of
$375.00 to Gynomed (AKA Miami Center of Excellence - a women’s health office
in Miami).”
Barnett also described four other purchases: a 12-pack of children’s bath
bombs, a set of LED lights, Charmin Ultra Strong toilet paper and an Amazon
Echo smart speaker.
She had the items sent to various addresses, including her home, the office
and her daughter’s home in the Orlando area, authorities said.
All told, deputies said West spent $33,959.57.
Barnett wrote in the warrant that he made multiple attempts to get in touch
with West, who said on Nov. 17 that she no longer lived in the Keys, but in
Orlando.
On one attempt to schedule an interview, on Dec. 6, the detective wrote that
West responded, “Ha, well I’ll be traveling....the holidays are crazy.” He
said he never heard back after that.
West’s charges are no laughing matter. She faces 35 of them in total: 16
counts each of forgery and uttering a forged instrument, two fraud charges
and a grand theft charge.
She remains in the Orange County jail awaiting a return to South Florida,
according to that county’s online records.
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