MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle held a press conference Thursday to announce the latest arrest in the ongoing investigation into the Hammocks Community Association, one of Florida’s largest HOAs.
The ongoing probe has exposed years of alleged financial mismanagement, theft, and corruption that left residents frustrated and demanding accountability.
On Thursday, authorities arrested 58-year-old Ivan Diez, a relative of several board members, who is accused of playing a significant role in the fraud. Diez allegedly set up a shell company and billed the HOA for services that were never performed.
According to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Diez was part of a larger scheme to siphon funds from the association, which oversees tens of thousands of residents in the Hammocks community.
“He billed for cleaning up after a hurricane,” Fernandez Rundle said. “There was no hurricane.”
Diez’s arrest is the latest development in a long-running investigation into the HOA, which has been marred by allegations of financial wrongdoing. The probe began in earnest after years of complaints from homeowners who accused the association’s leadership of mismanagement and stealing funds meant to maintain the community’s properties.
The investigation first made headlines in November 2022, when five HOA officials were charged with a variety of financial crimes, including racketeering, money laundering, and grand theft.
Authorities allege that these individuals embezzled millions of dollars from the association, funneling money into personal accounts and fake companies while neglecting the basic upkeep of the Hammocks community.
Authorities also booked Kevin Leonardo Alzate, 32, the cousin of former homeowners association president Marglli Gallego, into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center last December. He’s facing charges of perjury by contradictory statements, fabricating physical evidence and resisting an officer without violence.
Gallego, along with Monica Ghilardi, Jose Antonio Gonzalez, Myriam Rodgers and Yoleidis Lopez, were previously arrested in the case. They’re accused of stealing more than $1 million and were past or present board members at the time of their arrests.
Residents had expressed outrage about the southwest Miami-Dade HOA for years and the issue got the attention of Cuban singer Willy Chirino, who, in 2022, called for an investigation into the HOA after questions were raised about elections, the arrest of its former president for theft, and a notable increase in fees.
Alzate was an “integral part” of a scheme to create “several years of legal delays” that were “designed to avoid producing the required financial documents necessary to facilitate the criminal investigation despite judicial orders to do so,” a news release from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office states.
Prosecutors accuse Alzate of providing notarized affidavits demanding money from law enforcement, which he then used to justify not cooperating with legal requests from law enforcement; the HOA supported the expenses of producing the documents by submitting sworn, notarized affidavits.
Thursday’s announcement also included updates on two of the original five defendants: Monica Ghilardi and Myriam Rodgers.
Both have pleaded guilty to charges related to the theft and are now cooperating with investigators. Ghilardi, who had served as the HOA’s president, is currently in custody awaiting sentencing. Rodgers has been sentenced to probation in exchange for her cooperation in helping to unravel the details of the fraud.
Ghilardi is now in custody, and Rodgers is on probation as part of their plea deals, Fernandez Rundle confirmed during the news conference.
The Hammocks HOA case has become a high-profile example of the risks of unchecked power within homeowners’ associations, particularly in large, densely populated communities like the Hammocks. With nearly 6,500 homes and more than 40,000 residents, the HOA wields significant influence over the neighborhood’s daily operations and finances.
Authorities believe that Diez, like others involved, profited from this lack of oversight. By creating a fake company and billing the HOA for non-existent services, he allegedly took advantage of the association’s broken financial controls. His arrest marks another step toward unraveling what prosecutors have described as an intricate web of fraud.
As the case continues to unfold, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has promised more arrests, indicating that the full extent of the fraud may not yet be known.
Watch the press conference in the video below.
Local 10 Digital Journalist Chris Gothner contributed to this story.