A beleaguered Pembroke Lines condominium association, where a former property manager was criminally charged over allegedly misappropriating funds, filed for bankruptcy.
The Windmill Lakes V condo association, home to about 64 units in two-story beige buildings at 8842 Southwest Third Street, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on Thursday, listing up to $50,000 in assets and between $500,000 and $1 million in liabilities, according to court records.
It marks the latest chapter in the saga at Windmill Lakes V, which has been locked in civil litigation with its former property managers and has been under the oversight of court-appointed receiver John Paul Arcia since February. One of the complex’s ex-property managers, Michael Curtis, has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of misappropriating roughly $600,000 from the association by forging former board members’ signatures.
Windmill Lakes V hardly is the only association embattled with troubles. Across South Florida, these communities have been raising complaints against their board members and property managers for years, making varying allegations, including theft of association funds, election interference, bullying against those who speak out and high assessments with little- to no financial records to back up the levies.
At Windmill Lakes V, Curtis and his B.D.M. Property Management were retained to manage the association in 2017, with the contract expiring next year, according to court records. In January, Curtis was charged with grand theft and use of another’s ID without their consent, with police alleging he used former board members’ signatures to sign checks, transferring association funds to his B.D.M., as well as Private Parking Managers and All Florida Rental Management.
Curtis, who surrendered himself earlier this year and then posted bond, has requested a trial by a judge.
But Windmill Lakes V’s issues with ex-property managers doesn’t stop there. In September, Bruce Cramb, as the assignee of B.D.M., sued the Windmill Lakes V, alleging the association failed to secure property insurance and pass the legally required 40-year recertification requirement, exposing B.D.M. and Cramb to lawsuits by residents and failing to indemnify him for such suits, according to the complaint.
In his lawsuit, Cramb said the association owes B.D.M. funds for its remaining time on its contract, attorney fees and reimbursement for past legal fees for a total of $311,244. Notably, Windmill Lakes V’s bankruptcy filing shows Cramb, as assignee of B.D.M., as its biggest creditor, and lists the exact same amount as the unsecured claim.
The Chapter 11 reorganization filing also lists nearly $55,526 as an unsecured claim owed to the city of Pembroke Pines for utility services; another $125,000 owed to Paletz Roofing & Inspections and $43,400 to Private Parking Managers, according to court records.
Private Parking Managers’ state corporate records registration lists Curtis as its president.
But Windmill Lakes V unit owner Ethel Stephanie Vincent, who submitted a motion to intervene in the civil case on behalf of the association, says in her court filings that there’s more going on at the complex. The judge in the case approved Vincent’s motion to intervene.
Cramb’s suit is “an absolute sham,” accusing the association of failing in duties that he as the property manager is responsible for, Vincent wrote in her motion to intervene. Sometime after state authorities revoked Curtis’ community association management license in 2024, he re-assigned B.D.M.’s management contract for Windmill Lakes V to Cramb. Cramb is Curtis’ step-father and acted as his “straw man” in managing the association. Vincent also alleged former members of the board helped further the have supported Cramb and didn’t qualify to serve on the board because they don’t own Windmill Lakes V units, according to her filing.
In one of her court filings, Vincent also included a recommendation issued in January by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations, which oversees condo associations, to suspend Cramb’s community association management license for a year.
Elias Hilal, the attorney who represents Curtis in the criminal case, and who also filed the suit against the association on behalf of Cramb, declined to comment.
In February, the judge in the case appointed Arcia as the receiver for the association.
Shortly after, he filed a motion with the court to pause all litigation for three months, writing that the association is in a “state of operational crisis.” Among the issues are that the association had no insurance.
Arcia didn’t return a request for comment.