Article Courtesy of Forum
Publishing Group
By CHRIS GUANCHE
Published September 13, 2007
For
condominium associations and unit owners, finding the proper authority to
investigate allegations of fraud can often prove difficult.
Because condos are privately governed by their associations, some police
departments have declined to investigate condo association problems,
citing them as civil issues. The lack of a clear outlet to carry out fraud
investigations was frustrating to many owners, said state Rep. Julio
Robaina, R-Miami.
"[Unit owners] were told that it was a civil matter because there
really was no law enforcement agency that investigated that type of fraud,
and they were told they had to file a civil lawsuit," Robaina said.
A new condo fraud pilot program championed by Robaina is in place in
Miami-Dade County and could soon serve as a model for other counties.
Robaina worked with agencies such as the Department of Business and
Professional Regulation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to
organize a one-day training for detectives from all of Miami-Dade's
municipal police departments. Robaina said part of the training session's
goal was to condition officers to investigate condo-fraud issues
seriously.
Under the program, condo owners fill out a checklist, which is available
online, and a local police department will deliver the reports to the
state condo ombudsman's office, which will then screen the complaints and
send them back to police for further investigation. Although Broward
County is not part of the pilot program, Robaina said police departments
in Fort Lauderdale and Hallandale Beach are independently investigating
allegations of condo fraud, without the assistance of the condo
ombudsman's office.
Robaina said he thinks using police departments instead of forming a new
investigative agency is a more effective way to deal with condo fraud.
"Bottom line, it's grand theft and it's fraud. That's what they're
supposed to investigate," Robaina said. "Since condo fraud falls
under grand theft ... it's a natural fit."
However, determining what qualifies as fraud can be tricky, said the
state's assistant condo ombudsman, Bill Raphan.
"The majority of the [complaints] that have been coming in are not
criminal activities," Raphan said. "They seem to be
mismanagement or financial issues that don't come up to the level of a
criminal act."
Although Raphan's office currently is not investigating any claims from
counties outside the pilot program, he said other counties can use the
checklist as a template for their own investigations. The checklist asks
for items such as board-member contact information, as well as information
about anyone who may have witnessed alleged wrongdoings.
With several recent condo-fraud arrests in both Broward and Miami-Dade,
Raphan said he thinks the program has been effective and will be a
long-term success.
"Boards are going to be more careful," he said. "This gives
an avenue for people to be able to bring [fraud] out."
To
obtain an association complaint checklist visit www.ccfjedu.net/SCAM/SCAMindex.htm
or
call the Condominium Ombudsman's Office at 954-202-3234.
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