The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office announced on Thursday the arrest of six individuals accused of stealing at least 5.8 million dollars from five condominium associations in the county, as part of a two-year investigation dubbed "Operation Sundown."
The alleged mastermind behind the scheme is Juan Awais, 60 years old, who used his own property management companies to infiltrate the boards of the condominiums and divert funds into personal accounts through a network of affiliated companies.
Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz described the scheme as a "brazen criminal organization" and noted that Awais "built a network designed to create opportunities to siphon money from the partnerships he was supposedly meant to serve."
Along with Awais, Michael Irizarry, Delma Alonso, Johana Barrios Pérez-Tapia, Juliet Ramos, and Cynthea Louise Waltz were arrested, all facing charges of criminal conspiracy, money laundering, grand theft, and organized fraud, according to court records.
The main victims were voluntary members of the boards of directors, primarily Spanish-speaking senior adults who trusted those managing their communities. "The members of the boards of these associations apparently had no idea what was really happening," said Cordero-Stutz.
The mechanism of the fraud was systematic: the accused sent invoices for services never rendered or for work that had already been paid for, and then transferred the money to their own accounts.
Awais also worked on gaining the trust of the board members so that they would sign documents they didn't fully understand, which allowed him to control the operations and finances of the associations.
One of the most revealing episodes occurred after Hurricane Irma: the Mira Villa association received an insurance check for $796,000 for repairs. Part of the money was allocated for the roof, but hundreds of thousands of dollars were funneled to companies linked to the accused.
"The property owners were dealing with the aftermath of a devastating hurricane, and the insurance money was supposed to repair their homes. Instead, hundreds of thousands of dollars were siphoned off through a network to benefit people who had no legitimate claim to that money," said the sheriff.
The five affected condominiums are Mira Villa Condo Association, Los Sueños Condo, Samari Lake East Condo Association, Lago Grande, and Country Lake Manors, most of which are located in Hialeah or its surroundings.
During the investigation, the detectives executed seven search warrants on phones, computers, and electronic documents.
Authorities also found indications of obstruction: the suspects had presented incomplete or newly fabricated documents and discouraged board members from speaking with the police.
"This affected hundreds of families throughout Miami-Dade County. Our hope is that there will be more arrests; the investigation is ongoing. As I said, 5.8 million dollars is the amount we have today, but we suspect it is higher," Cordero-Stutz warned.
Awais was detained with a bail of $3,002,500 at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Alonso faces a bail of $2,202,500; Ramos, $722,500; and Pérez-Tapia, $720,000.
This case is the largest fraud involving condominiums recorded in Miami-Dade since the scandal of The Hammocks HOA, where more than 11 million dollars were embezzled and the former president of that community was sentenced to seven years in prison. In 2025, Miami-Dade launched a digital portal to report fraud in condominiums, which received 81 complaints in its first two weeks.
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