Days ago, I gathered the information the Police Department and the AZ Real Estate Department might need to act on a complaint charging the property management company of missing funds totaling about $13,000. These documents included a copy of the property management agreement, the latest monthly reports from the property management company, copies of the rental agreements and a summary and break-down of the funds that were missing.
The officer who took my complaint was pleased with the info, however, the matter was not as simple as one would think. He explained that based on the data I had provided, this was a dispute between parties over which the police department had no jurisdiction. If, however, it could be determine that the taking of the funds was a fraudulent act, the matter would be investigated. I insisting that it was a fraudulent act, stating my reasons for the accusations. The officer was very polite, tried to be helpful, explained that the accused party also had rights and said he would need to check with other individuals in the department before being able to let me know what to expect.
Several hours after my arrival, I walked out of the police department into the darkness that had fallen and bitter coldness feeling tired, frustrated and somewhat confused.
With the verbal and additional e-mail information I provided the officer that evening, the officer did talk with other parties in the department. By mid-morning he called asking for still more information; the contact phone numbers of the tenants affected, a copy of the Department of Real Estate cease and desist order issued in June, 2013, and more. Later that morning, the officer called again to verify my physical address. Later still, he called indicating that a formal complaint had been filed and the case had been assigned to a detective.
By the course of actions that had occurred so far, I assessed that if I wanted this case to move forward I would need to energetically participate in reaching solutions; do as much leg-work as one could and help the Department in gathering documents-information in every way possible.
On my desk yesterday, was an envelope from the Police Department. Opening the envelope revealed a “Victim Request for, or Waiver of, Pre-Conviction and/or Pre-adjudication rights” document with a case number and a pamphlet titled “Information for Arizona’s Victims of Crime”.
Also on my desk was the envelope/letter we sent by certified mail to the property management company weeks ago. The envelope was marked by the post office “Return to Sender. Unable to deliver. Unable to forward”.
One may ask; if the cease and desist order was issued by the Department of Real Estate in June 2013, why did it take you until December to file a police report? To our knowledge the Department of real estate does not post legal notices in the local newspapers. Nor does the Department of Real Estate notify anyone working with the party to whom the cease and desist order was issued of the cease and desist order.
By the time some of the missing rents for the months of September and October were unaccounted for, the property management company was under the protection of a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing. Our legal counsel explained that it would be “unlawful” for us to pursue any contact or action against the party named on the Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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