A longtime resident of a Florida condominium community describes how the property manager operated the complex like a dictatorship for over a decade, allowing maintenance problems to worsen while allegedly misappropriating residents’ fees.
Michael Christopher Curtis, 38, faces charges for stealing nearly $600,000 from the homeowners association at Windmill Lakes Condominium Community in Pembroke Pines. The anonymous resident, who has lived there for more than 20 years, notes that Curtis took over management in 2014 after working for the previous company, TD Sunshine.
Early Signs of Mismanagement
Before Curtis’s appointment, he accused the prior manager of theft, leading residents to view his takeover as a positive change. However, transparency quickly eroded. The resident recalls asking basic financial questions, only to receive vague assurances like, ‘Don’t worry, I got it.’
Fundraising efforts for a new gate yielded no results, and key amenities deteriorated. The outdoor pool shows visible black mold on the concrete, and the clubhouse has remained closed for years. Residents pay $300 monthly but receive minimal services, primarily lawn maintenance. ‘We were all paying $300 a month, and we weren’t getting anything but the lawn cut,’ the resident states. ‘You have all of these unit owners paying and you have nothing, no amenities whatsoever, not even a swimming pool.’
Lack of Board Elections and Control
No elections occurred for the HOA board for years, according to the resident and confirmed by Pembroke Pines Police. Melissa Mendez served as the sole board member and president, appointed by Curtis. ‘We didn’t vote [Mendez] in. Nobody voted for her, but she appeared as the president,’ the resident explains. ‘He had us in a dictatorship pretty much for years. We had no voice.’
Business records indicate Mendez still leads boards for two of the five subdivisions at Windmill Lakes. The resident’s subdivision now operates with an independent board and no longer uses Curtis’s services.
Details of the Alleged Theft
A probable cause affidavit reveals Curtis cashed over 350 checks by forging signatures of former HOA board members, totaling more than $1 million directed to his companies. Investigators confirmed nearly $600,000 as fraudulent. Former board members, including one who sold his home in 2019, provided sworn statements denying the signatures.
The multi-year probe began after resident complaints. Police also uncovered lapsed insurance coverage and fabricated management fees of $46,000. Curtis pleaded not guilty to first-degree grand theft and two counts of criminal use of personal identification information.
Additional Charges and Legal History
This marks Curtis’s third arrest. In two other Broward County cases, prosecutors allege he stole over $500,000 from different condo associations, involving insurance proceeds from Hurricane Irma’s 2017 damages.
For instance, on December 16, 2020, Curtis issued an $87,500 check from the Colonies II Condo Association to his firm, BDM Property Management, then cashed it at a facility for a $1,750 fee to obscure the transaction. In another case, he allegedly took $439,000 from Fairways of Sunrise meant for storm repairs. A jury ruled in October 2025 that Curtis and his company did not breach fiduciary duties in that matter.
Curtis’s attorney, Elias R. Hilal, maintains his client’s innocence: ‘This is Mr. Curtis’ third arrest, tied to the same personal vendettas and the same underlying dispute. He unequivocally denies wrongdoing, and we will be litigating aggressively to defend his name. When the evidence is laid out, the allegations won’t hold.’
On January 7, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal revoked Curtis’s community association manager license, as well as that of BDM Property Management, barring him from managing condos, HOAs, or cooperatives in Florida.
