{"id":224956,"date":"2026-04-09T15:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/224956\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:18:09","slug":"hoa-president-speaks-out-as-accused-embezzler-remains-on-the-run-in-martin-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/224956\/","title":{"rendered":"HOA President Speaks Out as Accused Embezzler Remains on the Run in Martin County"},"content":{"rendered":"

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Residents in a oncequiet Martin County community are speaking out after investigators say a trusted property manager stole hundreds of thousands of dollars <\/a>from multiple homeowners\u2019 associations \u2014 and then disappeared.<\/p>\n

The Martin County Sheriff\u2019s Office has issued a warrant for Alexandra Delacaridad Gonzalez, a former property management bookkeeper accused of carrying out an extensive embezzlement scheme while working for Avant-Garde Property Management.<\/p>\n

Authorities say Whitemarsh Reserve, a community off Kanner Highway in Stuart, is among the homeowners\u2019 associations targeted. Members there say they are still in shock.<\/p>\n

See Also: ‘Spring Cleaning’: Indian River sheriff announces results of major narcotics operations<\/a><\/p>\n

Whitemarsh Reserve HOA President Lauren Provenzano said Gonzalez seemed sweet. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was respectful. She responded to emails and attended monthly meetings,\u201d Provenzano said. \u201cHer demeanor was lovely \u2014 so to see that she was doing all this behind the scenes, acting so duplicitous, it\u2019s frightening actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigators outline alleged scheme<\/p>\n

According to the Martin County Sheriff\u2019s Office Criminal Investigations Division, Gonzalez allegedly used her access to HOA bank accounts to write checks to herself while managing financial records for multiple associations.<\/p>\n

Detectives say she concealed the thefts by:<\/p>\n

Creating fictitious invoicesFalsifying ledger entriesForging signatures of authorized account holders<\/p>\n

Subpoenaed financial records reportedly show the stolen money was used to fund a lavish personal lifestyle, including shopping, vacations, cosmetic surgeries, and trips to Disney World and New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as the money that she stole, there\u2019s none left to claw back. She spent it all,\u201d said Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said. \u201cShe lived a lavish lifestyle for that year-long period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long list of felony charges<\/p>\n

Gonzalez is facing a wide range of felony charges, including:<\/p>\n

Two counts of fraud exceeding $50,000Two counts of grand theft61 counts of uttering false instruments59 counts of embezzlement<\/p>\n

Her total bond has been set at $1.35 million.<\/p>\n

Authorities have confirmed Whitemarsh Reserve Homeowners Association and The Dunes of Hutchinson Island as victims so far, but investigators believe additional HOAs may have been impacted.<\/p>\n

The Dunes has since fired Avant-Garde Property Management, and residents there say they are working to recover the stolen money.<\/p>\n

Red flags uncovered by new HOA board<\/p>\n

At Whitemarsh Reserve, Provenzano says concerns surfaced only after a new HOA board took over and began reviewing finances more closely.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started on the board around June. Things were not adding up, so we started to dig,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce we started to ask questions, there was a trail that we were able to uncover.\u201d<\/p>\n

The community has since implemented new safeguards, including multiple sign-offs, financial committees, and deeper audits, to prevent future fraud.<\/p>\n

The HOA president said residents will not face higher dues as a result of the alleged embezzlement crime. <\/p>\n

Suspect remains on the run<\/p>\n

Gonzalez is not in custody. The Sheriff\u2019s Office believes she could be anywhere from Miramar to Vero Beach, but her exact location remains unknown.<\/p>\n

Residents say Gonzalez’s actions have left a feeling of betrayal and disappointment, but they’re working to move forward. <\/p>\n

\u201cShock \u2014 and then disappointment,\u201d said Whitemarsh Reserve Resident Jim Sweat. \u201cIt\u2019s like, how did this actually happen? That can\u2019t be real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone with information on Gonzalez\u2019s whereabouts or about possible related financial crimes is urged to contact the Martin County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Residents in a oncequiet Martin County community are speaking out after investigators say…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-224956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}