Posted on 02/08/2025 8:35:13 AM PST by dennisw
The Volusia Sheriff's Office said it needs the public's help to find a former New Smyrna Beach condo association president they believe stole or misused $1 million using some of the money to buy himself specialty products that included acne cream.
Julius Bruggeman, 76, formerly of New Smyrna Beach, is wanted on charges of grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, and racketeering, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post.
A seven-month investigation showed Bruggeman stole or misappropriated about $1 million from the New Smyrna Beach Club Condo Association over a 10-year period, investigating deputies said.
The complex is home to approximately 150 condo units. Association bank accounts collectively carried a monthly balance of over $700,000, and Bruggeman utilized those funds as if they were his own, sheriff's investigators said.
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A detective from the sheriff's office Financial Crimes Unit started looking into residents' complaints in April that Bruggeman, president and manager of the association, was embezzling funds from the association's bank accounts, the agency said.
Search warrants were served at the Smyrna Beach Club Condo Association Office and at Bruggeman's condo unit where he lived for more than 10 years. Deputies seized multiple documents from the office but found Bruggeman's home empty, according to the online news release.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Remember Seinfeld episode when Jerry’s father runs for condo President and they impeach him ?
LOL
Be on the lookout for a grey haired balding man with zits and a nice tan
So he sought asylum at a place without effective law enforcement.
A former mayor I know was of the opinion you can never have too many auditors. I can’t say I disagree! Oversight is a good thing.
Florida law requires condos to undergo a full audit at least every 3 years. A cursory audit can be allowed in the other two years.
The whole association was remiss in not paying attention to their “leader” and not following law.
Audits. For your business, for your charity, for your government.
They do a body good.
Should have passed out Willard organizers/tip calculators.
More common than it should be.
Condo owners have certain rights but seldom utilize them to control mismanagement of their association fees.
AND -——ALWAYS MAKE THE “BOOKKEEPER” TAKE A VACATION WITH A QUALIFIED REPLACEMENT.
IF YOU HAVE A BOOKKEEPER “THAT IS SO DEDICATED” THEY REFUSE TO TAKE A VACATION-—
I WILL BET THEY ARE EMBEZZLING
There are not many good reasons to be on a condo board. Maybe one, but that person would be outvoted.
Julius Bruggeman, 76, formerly of New Smyrna Beach, is wanted.
Wow! I have a ton of friends that live there. What a shame I think the unit I lived in down the street was scamming people too. And I think a lot of them take kickbacks from contractors that they hire. Regarding nsbc I always wondered why their dues were so cheap and I guess it’s because this guy was blinding them to questioning him
In fact that rule applies to anybody. One company I worked for the head of IT was just so devoted that he would come in at any hour if there was a problem with the system. Turned out that one of the things he was doing was renting the company a tape backup system (yes it was that long ago) that was not backing up anything. He would come in daily to "change the tape" which he also sold the company and there had to be regular "maintenance" that he also was charging the company for.
He did all of this through a shell company of course that was just a website he had set up. Apparently he forgot that it was possible to look up who owns the website.
That was fun to unravel.
As suspected! No zits
I’ve been working with a small local non-profit org on their internal control system. You keep reading about these things and nobody expects it to happen to them until it does.
Full audits for congresscritters every 2 years. Including when they start and on the way out the door. And their family members.
I currently work with a lot of smaller churches to help them set up a system to keep track of their finances. The board is often highly offended that I suggest yearly audits.
I have a nice speech that can summed up with, even good people can have a moment of weakness so lead them not into temptation.
It generally works.
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