A condominium board president was arrested on felony charges after authorities discovered he embezzled $1.5 million from unit owners.
Gregori Arzumanov was first elected president of the 377-unit Turnberry on the Green's Association in 2008, after the previous management put the association "one step away from bankruptcy," according to the former association president's online biography.
He then boasted about accumulating more than $4 million in the association's financial accounts and about building a "professional team" that completed $3 million worth of projects without charging tenants, according to their website.
The bio fails to mention that in 2017, Arzumanov started hiring companies he owned to complete projects at inflated prices. For instance, according to reporting from Local 10, the board president paid his pool company $40,000 "for services it never rendered." He also allegedly continued billing the association despite knowing he was being investigated.
As board president, Arzumanov, whose background is in quantum physics, appointed himself property manager and chief engineer despite not being a license engineer.
Local 10 reported Arzumanov is also facing a charge for credit card fraud for using the association's account to pay for groceries, gas, Dunkin' Donuts, and a $45 buffet outing.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by Local 10, Arzumanov got away with his scheme for years by using "threats and fear" and by filing lawsuits against board members to "suppress any (dissent)." Since most of the unit owners were investors, the former board president was able to keep them in the dark on day-to-day issues.
"The defendant would utilize a well-organized campaign of misinformation to make the building appear profitable to the owners who would not question anything as long as their investment appeared safe," Local 10 reported.
In addition to credit card fraud, the disgraced board president was charged with racketeering, money laundering, and making a false statement to the Florida Department of State as well as grand theft and organized scheme to defraud.
As of Tuesday, he was being held on a $500,000 bond.
Originally published on Latin Times.
