Golf community property manager used $40K on personal spending spree, Alabama cops say

The property manager of a coastal golfing community went on a personal spending spree with around $40,000 in stolen cash, according to police in Alabama.

This includes money for “food, entertainment, home improvement items as well as household living expenses such as utilities and real estate property taxes,” the Gulf Shores Police Department reports. Gulf Shores is on the Gulf of Mexico, about 30 miles southwest of Pensacola, Florida.

The 54-year-old suspect was the manager of the Craft Farms Property Owners Association, which has an operating budget of nearly $600,000 to tend 57 parcels in the Craft Farms Development, officials said.

Police said they received “a report of embezzlement and misuse of funds” at the association in March, and detectives began reviewing financial records dating back to 2019.

“Inconsistencies were identified which led investigators to suspect that association funds were being diverted for personal use,” police said.

“Evidence was recovered which indicated that on numerous occasions the property association’s bank debit card was used by the property manager to purchase items or pay bills that were not associated with the property association.”

Detectives also discovered the suspect overcharged the association “for overtime wages and health insurance reimbursements.”

“Investigators identified $40,000 in stolen association funds,” police said.

The suspect was arrested and charged with first-degree theft of property, officials said.

The Craft Farms development includes about “500 home sites arranged around thirty-six holes of Arnold Palmer golf plus the more than 30 lakes,” according to the association.

This story was originally published November 6, 2023 at 7:58 AM with the headline "Golf community property manager used $40K on personal spending spree, Alabama cops say."