The president of a luxury condo association in Aventura was arrested for allegedly embezzling more than $1.5 million from the association over a period of several years, authorities said.

Gregori Arzumanov, the president of Turnberry On the Green Condominiums, a luxury high-rise overlooking the exclusive Turnberry Isle Country Club and across from Aventura Mall, was arrested Tuesday, records show.

Miami-Dade Corrections

Miami-Dade Jail records show Arzumanov, 62, was arraigned Tuesday morning on charges of racketeering, organized fraud, money laundering, grand larceny and fraudulent use of a credit card.

According to the association’s website, Arzumanov has lived in Turnberry on the Green since 2004 and was elected board chairman in 2008.

Video released on X-Tuesday appeared to show Arzumanov being led out of the lobby of the condo building in handcuffs.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Aventura Police Chief Michael Bentolila and Aventura Mayor Howard Weinberg were scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon to provide more details about the arrest

NBC6 reached out to an attorney who represented Arzumanov in a civil case, but the attorney said he is not representing him in this case.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Arzumanov had embezzled more than $1.5 million from the association since February 2017.

“Although everything looks wonderful at Turnberry on the Green Condominiums, it turns out there was trouble in paradise,” Fernandez Rundle said.

According to an arrest warrant, the association of the 28-story, 378-unit condominium building had an annual budget of more than $3 million, funded by monthly fees from homeowners.

Arzumanov resigned as association president in January 2022 and was hired “at his insistence” as the building’s chief engineer, with an annual salary of $80,000, the warrant said.

Investigators determined that Arzumanov had a degree in quantum physics but had no technical background and no state license in engineering, the warrant said.

Arzumanov resumed the position of association president in December 2022, but he consolidated his power by taking on several top positions, including property manager and chief engineer, the arrest warrant says.

“This combination of positions allowed the defendant to select contractors, make purchases, and seek reimbursement for expenses unrelated to the affiliation without the need for oversight or controls,” the warrant states. “The defendant strategically moved himself into these senior leadership positions over time to avoid oversight and maintain unfiltered access to the club’s finances.

The arrest warrant also states that Arzumanov used “aggressive tactics” to instill fear and terror among residents and employees.

“These aggressive tactics, which included excessive fines, termination of employment and lawsuits, were all designed to keep everyone in line and limit any challenges to his plans,” the warrant states. “These aggressive scare tactics, coupled with the remaining board members’ apparent abdication of their fiduciary duties, enabled the defendant to pursue his plans and embezzle the (association’s) funds unabated.”

Arzumanov was able to embezzle club funds through various companies as well as credit card fraud, the arrest warrant states.

One of those companies was a security company he founded in 2017, which he allegedly told board members was a nonprofit company owned by the association and would save them money, the warrant states.

Arzumanov paid thousands of dollars for the company’s licensing and insurance using association funds, then terminated the association’s security contract with another company and switched to his own company, increasing the monthly fees by over $5,700, the warrant states .

In 2018, the first full year under its security company, the association paid the company $384,000, well above its annual budget of $335,000 and a $99,000 increase over the previous company, it said Arrest warrant.

The security company employed between 6 and 8 people but did not have enough employees to provide two employees per shift 24 hours a day, so he hired building residents and others to cover the shifts, the warrant states.

Fernandez Rundle said Arzumanov made over $1 million in profits from the security company alone.

Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office

Arzumanov also caused the association to pay another company of which he was CEO a quarterly consulting fee of $10,000 beginning in September 2018, the warrant states.

In 2019, he stopped doing that but switched to a different system where he billed the association $10,000 each quarter for “water facility services,” which resulted in his company being charged $40,000 by the association received, the arrest warrant states.

Arzumanov’s company did not provide “aquatic facility services” and a separate company was paid for pool maintenance, the warrant said.

In another scheme related to money laundering, Arzumanov made rental payments to his late mother even though no building units were in her name, Fernandez Rundle said.

Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office

Arzumanov also allegedly spent club funds on items for himself, including everything from trips to a buffet to artwork he placed around his condo and building, valued at about $30,000, Fernandez Rundle said.

Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office

Fernandez Rundle said he was able to go through with the plans because many residents were absentee owners.

“There are some who use the association as a cash cow to steal to benefit themselves,” Fernandez Rundle said. “So we want everyone to be very attentive, pay attention to what they are signing and ask questions.”

Aventura Police Chief Michael Bentolila said the crimes were brought to light by several residents. He apologized that the four-year investigation had taken so long.

“This was a complex fraud case where he took over not just the building but everything that went on around the building, all the assets that were used in and around the building. “It was a complete takeover, I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire career,” Bentolila said.

He also said Arzumanov was unlikely to be the only arrest made in the case and had a message for anyone who may have worked with him.

“You have the opportunity to contact our detectives or the prosecutor’s office to cooperate with us,” Bentolila said. “But that’s a very small window. If you don’t open it, we’ll be at your doorstep and we’ll arrest you too.”