Miami-Dade accountant arrested in Hammocks HOA theft scheme, state attorney says
Another person has been arrested in connection with the theft of money from Hammocks homeowners, according to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
The prosecutor announced the arrest on Friday of Jesus Cue, a 63-year-old business consultant and accountant.
Cue is accused of a series of thefts that have affected the finances of the Hammocks Homeowners Association, according to Fernandez Rundle.
Cue served as the West Kendall HOA's controller and accountant and is facing multiple felony charges related to fraud, money laundering and racketeering.
Cue was hired by the HOA to provide business and accounting services through his company, Worldwide Business Solution Corporation, between 2018 and 2022, according to the state attorney's office.
During that time, Cue received about $644,000 in payments from the HOA — an average of $161,000 a year — even as the HOA faced significant financial issues, including a $375,000 short-term loan taken out to cover basic operating costs, as Cue testified in a bankruptcy court proceeding, according to Fernandez Rundle.
The investigation uncovered that Cue allegedly played a key role in funneling HOA funds to friends and relatives of several board members. Some of these people set up fake companies to disguise the payments, with Cue's company listed as their registered agent. Three such companies — Albri Consulting LLC, Aya Service and Repair Corp., and Kaissen Technology LLC — received nearly $500,000 in payments from the HOA, according to Fernandez Rundle.
One witness, Dante Chauca, the husband of former HOA board member Monica Ghilardi, testified that former HOA president Marglli Gallego directed Cue to create a false company, Albri Consulting, to pay Ghilardi a hidden salary, according to authorities. Chauca, who was listed as "manager," stated he did not authorize the creation of the company and later confronted Cue about it. Cue allegedly reassured him, saying, "not to worry about it," according to a news release from the state attorney's office.
Other trouble at the Hammocks HOA
Last month, Ivan Dario Diez, 58, was charged with grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, fabricating evidence, and perjury after being implicated in a plot to divert homeowners' monthly maintenance fees from the West Kendall community's HOA. Diez is accused of funneling these funds to fake companies controlled by the relatives of Gallego, who is described by Fernandez Rundle as the leader of the criminal operation.
Gallego, along with five others — including her husband, a cousin and three other HOA board members — was previously charged in the scheme.
A court-appointed receiver has estimated that the theft and mismanagement drained approximately $6 million from the HOA's bank accounts. This money was funneled through checks written to bogus vendors, as well as wasteful spending and financial mismanagement.
Gallego, who faces charges of racketeering and money laundering, allegedly used some of the stolen funds to pay for surveillance of her rivals, cover her own legal fees, and fund personal purchases, including a house in Colombia and renovations on a property in Miami. Her husband, who was paid $1.26 million during the scheme, reportedly had no evidence of performing any work, owning any legitimate businesses, or pulling any permits.
"No homeowner should have to worry about how their HOA is handling the association's funds," Fernandez Rundle said. "Our investigation of the thefts at the Hammocks HOA have shed a bright light on a crime that may be occurring throughout our state."
