OAKLAND PARK, Fla. – A Broward County condo association president was arrested on charged of grand theft, accused of using association funds for his own personal use.
Residents say he was writing checks to himself, paying for repairs to his car and getting reimbursements for purchases at home depot, among many other things, with no receipts.
“There were checks that he was writing to himself, there were checks for supplies for which he had no documentation for,” said resident JoEllen Guld.
It wasn’t until they realized their reserve was down more than a half million dollars that they knew something just wasn’t adding up.
That condo president is 76-year-old Harry Murphy. He faced a Broward County judge Thursday after deputies said he embezzled thousands of dollars from residents living in the Oakland Forest Club community over the span of five years.
It didn’t take long for residents to hear of the arrest and the accusations Murphy used association funds to write checks to himself for personal use, including to pay for his personal attorney fees.
Rodolpho Price, a resident and CPA, is who first began to notice something was wrong when he looked at the association’s records and realized the much of reserves for the association were missing.
“In one of the checks, he took money out the reserve account of $1500 to fix his car,” said Price. “In June of 2020, we all got a letter that our reserves were short $545,000.”
Some residents find the accusations hard to believe.
“He has kept the maintenance low all these years,” said resident John Gigante.
Others, thought, feel Murphy betrayed their trust and took advantage of residents.
“He stole money from hardworking individuals,” said Price.
Local 10 News’ Roy Ramos visited Property Keepers, the company now managing the Oakland Park property, and they said they are currently investigating the allegations.
However, until their investigation is complete, the company said Murphy will remain on the board as president.
Residents unhappy with that decision are holding a meeting on Thursday night at which time they are expected to discuss electing a new board altogether.