Property Management issuing check with old board member

I am new to the board and I just realized that the property management company has been issuing checks with an old board members signature for the last year and a half (almost 2 years). One of the checks was issued to one of the current board members and was cashed, they knew full well that this board member is not and has not been on the board for almost 2 years. What are your recommendations as I feel this is check fraud.

Are you sure the former HOA board member isn't still on the signature list at the bank? We had a 2 signature requirement on each and every check. So we had to have 2 or more signatories at the bank. The book keeper signed and then 2 officers signed each check. There could be more than 2 officers on the list as sometimes had to cover if one was unable to sign at time of need.

This is a likely explanation - it's a real nuisance to change signatures at the bank every time your officers changed, and newbie directors may not even know this needs to happen.

Our software also allows signatures for associations and those authorized signatures printed on the checks. As Pat suggested, it may not be fraudulent at all.

My guess is that the signature cards were not updated at the bank causing the old board member to have to sign the check. This happened to us for a short period because of COVID. The bank would not allow us to come in to update the cards.

It is generally not appropriate to have a former board member as a signatory but it does not necessarily mean anything nefarious is going on. Fraud, in general, requires some ill intent and profit at the expense of another (essentially a theft). The fact that a check was written to another board member means nothing on its face, as long as it was an appropriate expenditure and documented properly.

I do think you have valid concerns but I would start with asking the board or manager to explain what is going on. It is very likely they are breaking some rules or procedures but that is not the same as fraud.