A former assistant property manager at West Palm Beach’s Andros Isles community is accused of diverting rental fees and security deposits totaling $13,300. Police say Crystal Marie Valdes, 37, directed residents to pay by money order, which investigators allege ended up in her boyfriend’s bank account. She was released on a $10,000 bond.
Key takeaways
- Valdes faces charges of money laundering and organized fraud involving less than $20,000.
- Police say the alleged scheme involved clubhouse rental fees and refundable deposits.
- The Andros Isles association was reimbursed, and residents were made whole, according to the affidavit.
The allegations are detailed in a West Palm Beach Police probable-cause affidavit. Valdes’s charges are accusations, and the affidavit’s claims have not been established in court.
How the alleged scheme worked
Valdes worked as an assistant property manager at Andros Isles, located at 2400 Victoria Point. One of her duties was arranging rentals of the community clubhouse ballroom. Investigators say she instructed residents to pay rental fees and security deposits with money orders, but the payments were not properly processed or deposited into the property owners association’s account.
Instead, police allege, money orders were deposited into an account belonging to Valdes’s boyfriend, Ronald Hight. One resident told investigators that Valdes instructed her to buy three money orders and leave them blank. Police said Valdes later admitted in a recorded sworn statement that she took money orders at work, filled them out and used Hight’s account because she did not have a bank account. According to police, she said Hight was not involved.
What investigators found
Police said the alleged activity began at least in August 2025 and came to light in January, after a resident asked about a security-deposit refund. The community association manager then found discarded rental applications and money-order receipts in a box designated for shredding beneath Valdes’s desk, according to the affidavit.
Certified Western Union records identified 13 resident money orders worth $5,400, of which 10 were confirmed deposited into Hight’s Bank of America account, police said. Investigators also cited bank records showing 70 money-order deposits totaling $17,975 into that account from June 2025 through January 2026. Three residents identified Valdes in photo lineups as the employee who handled their rentals and collected their payments, according to police.
Charges and repayment
The affidavit lists charges of money laundering and organized fraud involving less than $20,000. Police put the total loss in rental fees and deposits at $13,300. Campbell Property Management reimbursed the association, and residents were repaid, according to the affidavit. Valdes was released after posting a $10,000 bond.