Former property
manager Tony Rodriguez claims in a lawsuit he was unfairly
fired from his position of 25 years at the Botanica
Condominium by an abusive board for a $105,000 email fraud
that was not his fault.
“Mr. Rodriguez was wrongfully terminated and/or used as a
scapegoat as a result of the phishing incident,” the suit
claims.
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The entrance to the offices of the Botanica condominium, in Key Biscayne. Wed. Feb. 7, 2024. The condo association is being sued by its former manager, Tony Rodriguez, who alleges he was fired unjustly. |
It’s not clear what law – if any – might have been broken by
the use of a property management company, although Rodriguez
said in court papers that using a company would run afoul of
a unit owner vote, but no details were cited.
Rodriguez, in the lawsuit, said that to expedite payment the
Botanica board agreed with Key Colony to eliminate a
two-signature requirement on payment over Rodriguez’s
concerns.
Then an imposter in November 2022 inserted themselves into
the email conversation between Key Colony and Botanica
office staff regarding the monthly payment. The thief
spoofed the Key Colony administrative assistant’s email
address and directed the $105,000 payment to a different
bank account.
It took a month before the fraud was detected. Rodriguez was
fired in January 2023. He had worked for Botanica since 1998
in some capacity.
Rodriguez claims in the lawsuit he was also subject to
discrimination because of his marriage to Maria Ferrer
Rodriguez, who was the property manager of EmeraldBay –
another building in the luxury Key Colony complex.
After Tony Rodriguez was fired, Maria Ferrer Rodriguez was
charged last June with grand theft for allegedly pilfering
$7,900 in maintenance fees. Rodriguez claims Bramson would
reference his wife during board meetings to embarrass him.
Matt Bramson told the Independent in January of 2023 that
Rodriguez was terminated not because of the email fraud but
because of performance and skill-set issues. However,
Bramson said, at the time, that the phishing incident was
“the straw that broke the camel’s back,” a comment cited by
Rodriguez in his lawsuit.
Bramson said on Wednesday that the board had yet not been
served with Rodriguez’s lawsuit and could not comment.. A
closed board meeting is set for Friday afternoon.
Rodriguez, when reached by phone, said he did not have any
additional comment on the lawsuit. His lawyer, Payton
McCann, did not return a phone call or email.
The other board members named in the lawsuit – Bueno and
McDanal – did not return voice messages seeking comment.
Rodriguez claims he told the board repeatedly that the
administrative staff needed help after the bookkeeper
position was eliminated during the pandemic. “Mr. Rodriguez
voiced concerns at board budget meetings and advised the
board that the administrative office needed help, especially
bookkeeping,” the lawsuit states
Rodriguez alleges the three Botanica board members named
were also abusive to himself and the other administrative
staffer, screaming and throwing papers at them.