Bakersfield Cops Probe Two Property Managers Accused Of Failing To Turn Over Rent To Over A Dozen Landlords, Leaving Some In Danger Of Foreclosure

In Bakersfield, California, KBAK/KBFX TV Channels 29/58 report:

• Court records show two women who are under investigation for their ownership of a local property management firm also have a history of white collar crimes. Bakersfield police are looking into fraud allegations against Kristi Smart and Michelle Gamero of now-defunct Elite Property Management LLC.(1)

• More than a dozen property owners have come forward saying Smart and Gamero have been collecting rent from tenants for months but not turning the money over to the property owners. Some of the property owners said they are now in danger of losing their rental properties to foreclosure.

For more, see Business owners under fraud investigation have criminal past.

(1) According to the story:

• In 1992, Smart was convicted of writing more than $2,500 in bad checks;
• In 1997, she was convicted of forging checks. Smart was sentenced to two years at Central California Women's Correctional Facility in Chowchilla.
• In 1997, Gamero was convicted of embezzling nearly $130,000 from a former employer. She was sentenced to three years at CCWCF in Chowchilla.