Fresno woman pleads guilty to embezzling more than $1 million from Minneapolis HOAs

A Fresno woman pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $1 million from a Minneapolis-based property management company where she worked as a financial manager.

Mai Houa Xiong, 47, admitted to charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and filing a false tax return.

Xiong’s former employer provided financial services to homeowners associations (HOAs) throughout the Twin Cities metro area. The case against Xiong was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota.

Federal prosecutors allege that between February 2015 and February 2022, Xiong devised a scheme to embezzle the HOA fees collected from hundreds of residents.

The fees are collected to pay for maintenance, construction and other costs incurred by the homeowners associations.

As a manager and bookkeeper, Xiong had access to the associations’ financials, bank accounts, vendor and contractor payments.

According to court records, Xiong repeatedly accessed bank accounts and conducted electronic transfers of funds directly into her personal bank accounts.

Xiong disguised these transfers by mislabeling them to make it appear as if they were legitimate homeowner association expenses. Xiong also used her authority as a signatory to withdraw cash from the HOAs’ accounts, even after she was fired from her position in July 2021, according to court records.

Xiong was also accused of receiving unemployment insurance funds, despite having found a job.

Xiong’s sentencing date has not been determined.