Federal prosecutors are set to seize control of six South Florida properties from an indicted former executive of a state-owned oil company in Ecuador.
Among the six properties are three in the Miami area, two houses and a condo, and three in Hollywood, a house, a five-room motel and an eight-unit apartment complex.
All six properties are owned by limited liability companies managed by Hollywood-based Waveland Properties Management LLC.
The three Miami-area properties were sold in 2013 for a total of $1.56 million, the three Hollywood properties sold in 2014 for a total of $1.95 million. Property records also show each of the six properties has sold more than once for $100.
Prosecutors allege 53-year-old Marcelo Reyes Lopez, who previously handled contracts for oil company Petroecuador, participated in a conspiracy to launder income from a bribery scheme that violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Following the arrest of Reyes on Oct. 12, prosecutors placed liens on the six properties in Hollywood and the Miami area and filed a court petition to seize themm on the grounds that the owner used illicit funds to purchase them.
The three properties in Miami-Dade County are 11316 Northwest 79 Lane in Doral, 14340 Southwest 156 Avenue in southwest Miami-Dade, and Unit 1902 at the Sands Pointe Ocean Beach Condo at 16711 Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach.
The three in Hollywood are 605 South Ocean Drive, the Waveland Motel at 609 South Ocean Drive, and a small apartment complex at 345 Monroe Street. [South Florida Business Journal] – Mike Seemuth