Miami-Dade condo building manager accused of receiving illegal kickbacks from a contractor, investigators say

A North Miami Beach condominium building manager was arrested after allegedly receiving illegal kickbacks from a contractor. Maria del Carmen Alvarez-Concepcion, 57, appeared in bond court Friday after she was arrested at her place of work.

Alvarez-Concepcion was the building manager of the Greynolds Park Club condominiums. According to investigators from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office (MDSO) real estate fraud squad, she was receiving illegal kickback payments from a contractor working on the building.

"People are shocked," said Jean Claude, a resident and HOA board member.

Investigators say the contractor paid Alvarez-Concepcion $20,910. These payments were reportedly not authorized by the condo association and were intentionally concealed from the board of directors.

The arrest report states that Alvarez-Concepcion admitted to accepting the kickbacks.

Claude, who has lived in the building for 45 years, said this is not the only issue they are dealing with.

"I am very happy that the state is investigating what is going on in the condominium," Claude said. He added, "We have a huge problem in the condo association, huge".

When asked if he was surprised by the news, Claude replied: "I know her personally, she has qualities, and she has faults. Are you surprised to hear that this happened to her? I know I cannot say I'm surprised".

Claude urged investigators to dig deeper, stating, "I think that if the state is doing the job correctly, they should dig, try to find the money, and when you find the money, you'll find the truth". He noted that "we have a lot of renovations, a lot of money spent, and we spend too much money".

Alvarez-Concepcion is facing a number of charges, including kickback solicitation, grand theft, and organized fraud.

Another witness told investigators they have had long-standing concerns regarding Alvarez-Concepcion's control over multimillion-dollar contracts, a lack of financial transparency, and missing records.