Ex-HOA president admits fleecing Miami residents in $11 million fraud scheme

A former homeowners association president and her husband have admitted to stealing “upwards of $11 million” from thousands of residents in a Miami community.

Marglli Gallego, 44, pleaded guilty to racketeering and grand theft charges for siphoning millions from the monthly maintenance fees of one of Florida’s largest homeowners associations. Her husband, Jose Antonio Gonzalez, 49, also pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering Thursday.

Gallego, who led the Hammocks Community Association, was described as the mastermind behind the sprawling scheme.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle described it as “one of the largest homeowner association frauds in U.S. history” - which swindled more than 18,000 residents out of “upwards of $11 million,” CBS News reported.

Gallego was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by seven years of probation in a Miami-Dade courtroom. Gonzalez was sentenced to seven years of probation and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution and forfeit a $1.2 million home.

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“For us it was important not only to get justice for the homeowners but to make sure that they were made whole as much as possible from this criminal case,” Fernandez-Rundle said at a press conference Thursday. “We believe that this is the longest prison sentence ever for an HOA board president in the United States.”

The Hammocks is a quiet community in south Miami west of Kendall that mixes residential and recreational seamlessly and also includes plenty of retail options making it a convenient suburban center, according to Drew Kern Real Estate. Homes available include Mediterranean style single family homes, townhomes, villas, and condos.

An investigation into the HOA was launched in 2022 after residents raised concerns about a “decline” in the association’s reserve funds, “excessive expenditures” and other undocumented spending, court documents obtained by the Miami-Herald. The probe led to the arrests of eight people connected to the HOA board, including Gallego and Gonzalez.

According to prosecutors, Gallego and her co-conspirators created shell companies to funnel HOA funds to themselves under the guise of vendor payments for services that weren’t actually being provided, prosecutors said. One of the companies under Gonzalez’s name netted more than $1.4 million between 2017 and 2022.

The fraud probe led a “ferocious and immediate legislative response,” with new laws punishing HOA election fraud, prohibiting commingling of association funds and promoting greater transparency for residents’ access to HOA records, the Miami-Herald reported.

On Thursday, prosecutors revealed new details from the investigation including the discovery of HOA records hidden at a storefront disguised as a spa inside an empty building at a strip mall in Broward County.

Prosecutors said the evidence exposed a years-long operation in which the HOA funds were routinely misused for personal gain.

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“She intentionally targeted them, this particular homeowner’s association, because she purchased one percent share of a condominium in order to be eligible to be able to run for a position on the board,” Fernandez Rundle said.

“This way, she was able to successfully infiltrate the HOA board which became her cash cow in her diabolical scheme.”

Gallego is accused of using HOA resources and monies to go after rival association members, which included ordering the community’s security to “harass” them, police say. She also allegedly used HOA credit cards for personal purchases at fast-food restaurants, including Pollo Tropical, Panera Bread and Little Caesars, as well as for grocery shopping.

The probe led to arrests of other board members, as well as the couple’s cousin: Monica Ghilardi, 56, a former board member; Myriam Rodgers, 80, a former board member; Yoleidis Lopez, 50, a former board member; Kevin Alzate, 34, Gallego’s cousin; Ivan Diez, 59, who was accused of being behind a shell company; and Jesus Cue, 64, the association’s accountant.

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Ghilardi pleaded guilty to grand theft and perjury and was sentenced to a year in prison followed by 12 years of probation. Rodgers also struck a plea deal. She received a withhold of adjudication, which means no criminal conviction will appear on her record, and was ordered to complete five years of probation.

The others are still awaiting trial.

Many residents of the community, including Ana Danton, were not happy with the outcome.

“A lot of people lost their homes,” she told CBS. “It's $11 million. Seven years in jail versus $11 million. Where's the money? Are the people that lost their home going to recover their home?”