Susan Lambert
$2.8M embezzled from HOA: After two-year investigation, former Woodlake manager charged, booked for theft; pleads not guilty
The Daily Journal
By Samantha Weigel
17 September 2015
After a nearly two-year investigation, the former manager of the Woodlake Homeowners Association was booked into county jail Wednesday for allegedly embezzling nearly $2.8 million from the San Mateo residents’ group.

Susan Marie Lambert, a 64-year-old Fremont resident, has been charged with two felonies for conspiring to defraud the homeowners between Feb. 8, 2007, and September 2013, according to prosecutors.

Lambert’s alleged crimes were discovered after the 990-unit condominium association fired her and uncovered a stack of nearly 150 false invoices for construction work that was never completed, according to prosecutors.

Lambert pleaded not guilty after surrendering in court Wednesday morning and was booked on $1 million bail, according to prosecutors.

The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office filed charges Sept. 1 against Lambert and her alleged co-conspirator Michael Anthony Medeiros, a 58-year-old Fremont man, who has yet to be arrested.

Faced with multiple enhancements, including aggravated white-collar crime, the duo could face nearly six years in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors.

Lambert and Medeiros reportedly conspired together while Lambert was in charge of the association’s finances and Medeiros was the owner of a painting company. Lambert would draft invoices for work, pay Medeiros, who would deposit the check into an account under his control, then split the money with Lambert, according to prosecutors.

“It’s obviously an enormous embezzlement. We certainly don’t see them of this magnitude very often,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti.

Officials with Woodlake turned information over to San Mateo police, who conducted an investigation before filing a report with the district attorney. Nearly two years passed since Lambert was fired before charges were formally filed.

“I’m very happy that finally justice may be done,” said Steve Davis, a member of the Woodlake Board of Directors.

The association, formed in 1987, oversees the 30-acre condominium community near Peninsula Avenue and Delaware Street that includes a slew of amenities. The site boasts a lake, five swimming pools, private courtyards, clubhouse, spa, 18-hole putting green, four tennis courts, two saunas, a gym and billiard room, according to the Woodlake website.

Lambert had worked for the association, which has a nearly $5 million annual budget, for more than a decade. She also received hefty compensation earning approximately $200,000 a year, Davis said.

“What’s amazing is that she was taking all this other money but that wasn’t good enough. And it was the small stuff that tripped her up,” Davis said.

The board originally caught wind of the theft when a member saw suspicious activity on a bank statement from the debit card Lambert was issued. She had made several withdrawals at various casinos, including Thunder Valley, as well as apparent personal purchases such as clothing, Davis said.

Lambert also initiated a board policy aimed at preventing members from speaking with vendors or contractors, Davis said.

For years, Lambert had firm supporters on the board and even claimed she was being harassed when someone would question her actions, Davis said.

In 2004, Lambert filed a lawsuit claiming defamation against two residents who accused her of taking “kickbacks” from a contractor, according to court records. That case never went to trial and was apparently settled through mediation, according to court records.

Lambert’s defense attorney did not return a request for comment.

Former and current Woodlake board members declined to comment, as the investigation is ongoing. Davis said the association has since made improvements such as hiring a new manager.

The case was continued to Oct. 1 for a pretrial conference and scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 20.

As of Wednesday afternoon, she remained in jail on $1 million bail.

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

Reader's Comments
Geraldine Slattery
This woman was a nighmare and was always yelling and screaming at people at Woodlake (including myself) about what rules and regulations they were breaking at Woodlake and she was (apparently) stealing our money right from under our noses!! I hope she get what she deserves—lots of jail time!

Nila Ridings
My HOA has $10 million unaccounted for and the guy that was the board president and ran the HOA like his private business for over 20 years dropped dead when homeowners started to investigate! After he was dead it was discovered there was over $500K in unpaid water, sewer, trash....you name it, the HOA owed everybody money.

To "remedy" the problem the idiot the board hired to manage the HOA after Mr. 20 Years died talked the board into borrowing $1 million and he used the dues to pay off the $500K!

It's not just the theft of money that effects an HOA and damages the homeowners. The property values drop. The insurance premiums escalate both for the HOA and the homeowners. The maintenance is deferred. The Realtors run. Homeowners that cannot sell for what they owe dump the property into foreclosure. Investors buy the cheapened property and turn it into rentals. Crime rates increase. And the thief gets three months to three years in jail. No big deal.

For the one millionth time....HOAs are a thieves' paradise!

And anybody that tries to expose the TRUTH better look out. Get ready. Brace yourselves. The homeowners will go after you for exposing what is happening and continue to support the HOA board. The very board that allowed no audits, no accountability, no questions for the very person that sat on the board and sunk the entire neighborhood.

They will tell everyone that you are lying. They will scream at you at meetings to "MOVE" and bully you until the stress nearly kills you and affects your health. They will send you hate mail, leave it on your door anonymously, and even threaten you over the phone. They will write letter after letter to all of your neighbors telling them you are a rabble rouser and all is well there is nothing to worry about. Nothing at all to worry about.

Been there done it. If you step up and expose the truth get ready to have your life, health, happiness, and bank accounts destroyed.

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Alleged HOA embezzler to face two felonies: Prosecutors to seek felony, embezzlement charges despite judge’s ruling
The Daily Journal
24 May 2016
Prosecutors can continue their case against the former manager of a San Mateo homeowners association who allegedly conspired to embezzle $2.8 million, despite a San Mateo County Superior Court judge ruling Monday he didn’t believe there was enough evidence to charge the duo with forgery.

It took a judge five preliminary hearing dates to complete a review of the evidence against Susan Marie Lambert, who managed the Woodlake Homeowners Association when she allegedly generated 150 false invoices between February 2007 and September 2013.

Although a judge noted he didn’t believe there was enough to charge Lambert and co-conspirator Michael Anthony Medeiros with forgery, he agreed prosecutors had enough to charge for felony embezzlement, said Assistant District Attorney Al Serrato. The judge’s agreement with the embezzlement charge allows prosecutors to continue and Serrato said the district attorney plans to proceed with the forgery charge as well.

“We’re going to be able to file that charge and proceed forward in a normal fashion,” Serrato said. “We’re confident that we’re going to be able to establish this beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.”

Lambert’s attorney said he does not comment on pending litigation.

Lambert and Medeiros, the owner of a painting company, have both pleaded not guilty and will return for Superior Court arraignment June 21, Serrato said.

Lambert, a 64-year-old Fremont resident, remains in custody on $1 million bail, and Medeiros, a 58-year-old Fremont resident, is currently out on $1 million bail bond.

Lambert was responsible for overseeing the 990-unit condominium community off Peninsula Avenue and Delaware Street. The 30-acre site boasts a lake, five swimming pools, private courtyards, clubhouse, spa, 18-hole putting green, four tennis courts, two saunas, a gym and billiard room.

Lambert had worked for the association, which has nearly a $5 million annual budget, for more than a decade. She’s been charged with issuing false invoices for construction work that was never completed, then conspiring with Medeiros who deposited the checks and shared the money with Lambert.

Members of the Woodlake Homeowners Association Board of Directors caught wind of the theft in late 2013 after Lambert was fired and reported it to San Mateo police. After a two-year investigation, Lambert was arrested in September and Medeiros caught shortly after.

Serrato said the extensive amount of evidence may have contributed to the lengthy preliminary hearing on the two felony charges, for which the duo could face a maximum of six or eight years if found guilty.

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Embezzler pleads no contest: Former Woodlake homeowners’ association manager faces about three years prison
The Daily Journal
 28 September 2016

The former manager of San Mateo’s Woodlake condominium homeowners’ association accused of stealing $2.8 million could serve more than three years in prison after pleading no contest to embezzlement charges.

Nearly three years after residents were first tipped off that their HOA leader was stealing from them, Susan Marie Lambert pleaded no contest Tuesday to felony embezzlement and felony forgery charges, as well as an enhancement charge that she stole more than $500,000, according to prosecutors.

Susan Marie Lambert

Michael Medeiros

Lambert and her alleged co-conspirator Michael Anthony Medeiros have been accused of taking an estimated $2.8 million from homeowners at the 990-unit Woodlake condominium complex near Peninsula Avenue and Delaware Street.

On Monday, the cases were separated and, on Tuesday, Lambert, a 65-year-old Fremont resident, pleaded no contest on the condition she receive no more than three years and four months in state prison, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Medeiros is slated to face a jury in February and has been out on $1 million bail.

“The number of victims involved was large because there were so many people they were defrauding,” Wagstaffe said. “It wasn’t some conglomerate where this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket; it’s truly taking advantage [of individuals].”

Lambert had managed the association, which had a nearly $5 million annual budget, for more than a decade. A call to her defense attorney was not immediately returned Tuesday.

A Woodlake resident previously reported homeowners caught wind of the theft when a board member saw suspicious activity, including charges at various casinos, on a bank statement from a debit card Lambert had been issued.

After Lambert was fired, the association uncovered a stack of nearly 150 false invoices for construction work that was never completed. Police and investigators determined she had been conspiring to defraud the homeowners between Feb. 8, 2007, and September 2013, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Lambert would make false invoices and write checks to Medeiros’ company Professional Painting, Inc. He would then allegedly cash the checks and the two would split the profits.

Lambert reportedly had a gambling problem and remained in custody on the $1 million bail since she was first arrested in September 2015 after a nearly two-year investigation.

Medeiros has been out of custody and has an Oct. 4 hearing on his motion to reduce his $1 million bail. He is scheduled for a jury trial Feb. 21, 2017. Lambert is not required to testify as part of her plea deal, Wagstaffe said.

The court agreed she would receive no more than three years and four months in state prison, however, it is up to a judge to decide during sentencing how long she must serve. On Tuesday, the judge indicated she preferred to wait to sentence Lambert until after Medeiros’ trial, Wagstaffe said.

Lambert had faced the two felonies along with multiple enhancement charges that could have landed her up to nearly six years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said previously. Lambert would have been on trial with Medeiros had she not pleaded guilty Tuesday, Wagstaffe said.

Lambert is not eligible for probation and is facing mandatory prison time, although it wouldn’t be unusual for her to remain in county jail if the judge opts to hold off on sentencing, Wagstaffe said.

Restitution will also be determined at a later time, but Wagstaffe noted Lambert apparently did not have much money as she was reportedly addicted to gambling.

“She did this just for her personal pleasure and that makes it an egregious violation,” Wagstaffe said, adding “the case [against her] was very, very strong.”

Members of the homeowners association could not be reached for comment.

The association was formed in 1987 to oversee the large 30-acre condominium that includes a slew of amenities. The site has a lake, five swimming pools, private courtyards, clubhouse, spa, 18-hole putting green, four tennis courts, two saunas, a gym and a billiard room, according to the Woodlake website.

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Woodlake embezzler sentenced
The Daily Journal
Staff report
15 September 2018

A man accused of embezzling millions of dollars from the San Mateo Woodlake Condominium Association between 2007 and 2013 was sentenced to seven years state prison Friday and was ordered to split the restitution with his co-conspirator, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Michael Medeiros, 62, was ordered to split the $2.84 million in restitution with Susan Lambert, 67, for crimes they committed over the course of six years that directly affected residents of the homeowners’ association.

“It’s a really good lesson that in a white collar crime, there is a fallacy that there is no victim,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti. “This is an example of a serious consequence for a white collar crime. There are always victims.”

Lambert, who agreed to testify against Medeiros, pleaded no contest to felony embezzlement and felony forgery and admitted she stole more than $100,000 in September of 2016. Lambert faces three years, four months in state prison and is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 11.

Because she agreed to testify in Medeiros’ trial — which ended May 11 when a jury found him guilty of felony embezzlement and felony grand theft, a judge chose to delay Lambert’s sentencing until Medeiros’ trial was adjudicated, according to prosecutors.

It’s been five years since residents of the condominium homeowners’ association were tipped off about a possible embezzlement scheme and nearly three years since Lambert was first taken into custody after a two-year investigation of records used to siphon funds from the 990-unit complex at Peninsula Avenue and Delaware Street.

Lambert had managed the association, which had a nearly $5 million annual budget, for more than a decade. A Woodlake resident previously said homeowners caught wind of the theft when a board member saw suspicious activity, including charges at various casinos, on a bank statement from a debit card Lambert had been issued.

After Lambert was fired, the association uncovered a stack of nearly 150 false invoices for construction work that was never completed. Police and investigators determined she had been conspiring to defraud the homeowners between Feb. 8, 2007, and September 2013, according to prosecutors.

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