Condo Crime: Board President Busted For Allegedly Stealing $1.5 Million From Association
Is the arrest of board member Gregori Arzumanov of the Turnberry On The Green tower in Aventura a harbinger of things to come under the revised Florida Condo Law?
In what could be a harbinger of things to come under the newly revised Florida Condo Law that promotes condo association transparency, the president of a highrise tower in Northeast Miami-Dade County was busted in an alleged $1.5 million embezzlement scheme on Tuesday.
Gregori Arzumanov - the quantum physicist-trained president of the Turnberry On The Green condo tower in Aventura - was arrested on Oct. 1, 2024, on a number of felony charges, including racketeering, grand theft and money laundering, according to a Miami-Dade County arrest warrant.
Police arrested Arzumanov at the tower where he is accused of acting like the “king of the condo” at 19501 W. Country Club Drive, according to WSVN.com.
Built in 2002, the Turnberry On The Green condo tower - located across the street to the east of the Aventura Mall - is a 28-story building with 376 residential units, according to the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s website.
The Turnberry On The Green condo association has an operating budget of about $3.3 million, according to the arrest warrant.
At least 14 condos are currently listed for sale in the Turnberry On The Green at an average asking price of $542,636 per unit or $452 per square foot, according to CVRRealty.com.
In the first nine months of 2024, buyers purchased 13 units at an average price of $506,846 per unit or $442 per square foot, according to the stats.
Aventura Police Chief Michael Bentolila told a Tuesday press conference that Arzumanov’s alleged crimes were brought to the attention of law enforcement based on the input of suspicious residents.
"This was an intricate fraud case where he took over not just the building but all, everything going on around the building, every asset used in and around the building,” Chief Bentolila said according to WSVN.com. “It was a complete takeover. I've never seen anything like this in my entire career.”
Police allege in the arrest warrant that Arzumanov and his companies maneuvered to gain control of the condo association in order to use the community’s maintenance fees to “enrich” himself and his family.
Arzumanov first became president of the association in 2008 and held the position until January 2022 when he “briefly stepped down for several months” before he “resumed the position of president” in December 2022.
During his absence, the condo association board “hired the defendant at his insisting to be the building’s chief engineer” despite Arzumanov not being an engineer licensed in Florida, according to the arrest warrant.
It is worth noting, Arzumanov - who was still the association’s president - also became the condo’s property manager in 2019.
Arzumanov was paid an annual salary of about $80,000 for serving in the roles of the building’s chief engineer and property manager, according to the arrest warrant.
The arrest report states that Arzumanov, “by simultaneously holding the key positions of association president, property manager, and chief engineer; effectively took over all top-level management positions within the association.
“This combination of positions allowed the defendant to select contractors, make purchases, and seek reimbursement for non¬association expenses with no oversight or checks and balances.”
By gaining control of the “upper management positions,” Arzumanov was allegedly able to incorporate “aggressive tactics” to intimidate association residents and employees.
“These aggressive tactics which included, excessive fines, termination of employment, and lawsuits were all designed to keep everyone ‘in line’ and limit any challenges to his schemes,” according to the arrest warrant. “These aggressive fear tactics paired with the remaining board members obvious abandonment of their fiduciary duties, allowed the defendant to operate his schemes and embezzle the TOGCA (Turnberry On The Green condo association) funds unabated.”
Additionally, the arrest warrant states that Arzumanov “terminated” the condo association’s contract with Bryant Security - at a cost of about $22,794 per month - in December 2016 and replaced it with Fortress Protective Services - at a cost of about $20,554 per month, according to the arrest warrant.
Less than six months later in May 2017, Arzumano terminated the contract with Fortress Protective Services and instilled his firm Yuka Security Corp. at an average cost of about $26,284, according to the arrest warrant.
“This increase resulted in Yuka Security making a profit of approximately $40,111.54 above what the original contracted rates were” in 2017 according to the arrest warrant.
In the following year of 2018, Yuka Security was “paid approximately $384,000.00 for security services, an annual increase of $99,000.00,” according to the arrest warrant.
In 2023, Turnberry On The Green was paying about $380,000 annually for security to Arzumanov’s company.
“Based on identified payroll records, Yuka Security averaged an annual profit of $200,000 per year which solely benefited the defendant,” according to the arrest warrant.
Arzumanov’s alleged crimes - which were being investigated for the last four years - and subsequent arrest comes about three months after the July implementation of the latest revisions to the Florida Condo Law that are aimed at promoting transparency and stomping out corruption at condo associations in the Sunshine State.
It is unclear if the decision to arrest Arzumanov was impacted by the Florida Condo Law.
Board members, property managers and management companies, alike, now face a wide range of sanctions ranging from criminal charges to fines, license revocation to removal from office for offenses such as accepting or soliciting kickbacks, not disclosing conflicts of interest and refusing to share information with unit owners.
The new laws are part of the 2024 revisions adopted by the Florida Legislature in March, signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in June and went into effect in July 2024.
It is worth noting, none of the charges listed on the arrest warrant cite the Florida Condo Law. It is unclear if more charges will be added.
The Florida Condo Law changes were made in response to the collapse of the Champlain Towers South on the barrier island in Miami-Dade County on June 24, 2021.
Nearly 100 people died and a $1 billion settlement was reached with the families of the victims.
A federal investigation is currently underway but the preliminary reports suggest a flawed design coupled with a lack of upkeep by the condominium’s association contributed to the disaster.
The Florida Legislature has taken a number of steps - prompted by insurance companies threatening to withdraw coverage in the state - to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
Up until now, the state’s measures were being implemented slowly but that all changes in 2025 when many of the measures take effect.
Beginning in January, condo associations in Florida will be required to start collecting money from unit owners to place into reserve accounts that will be used exclusively to fix, maintain and improve the structural integrity of residential buildings that are at least three-stories tall.
People are dubbing this moment as the 2025 Florida Condo Association Financial Cliff as it is expected to result in significantly higher costs for unit owners. News reports are already chronicling condo owners selling their units at deep discounts ahead of the 2025 deadline.
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