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- Katie Jo Childs is accused of stealing more than $220,000 from a real estate agency.
- Childs allegedly told tenants to pay her directly.
- Bridge Realty discovered discrepancies in tenant accounts.
PRICE — A property manager for a real estate agency in Price is accused of stealing more than $200,000 from the company, including pocketing rent money and other payments from tenants which nearly led to their evictions.
Katie Jo Childs, 43, was booked into the Carbon County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of theft and communications fraud.
In October, Price police were contacted by administrators from Re/Max Bridge Reality who stated that while reviewing rental property logs, they found "several properties that were delinquent on rent to the point that Bridge Realty would be seeking eviction," according to a police booking affidavit which also noted that some tenants were delinquent on rent by several months.
But when the company contacted those tenants, they were able to show receipts and other transaction histories which detailed rent being paid directly to Childs in cash or through Venmo or another app, the affidavit states.
"In some cases, tenants also provided screenshots of text conversations with Childs where she provided them with the links to the mobile applications where she directed tenants to pay her via those means," police stated.
Bridge Reality staffers then reviewed several tenant accounts and discovered discrepancies between when their leases were signed and when they actually moved in.
"It was discovered they had moved in on or near the date the lease was signed and paid Childs a security deposit and first-month rent whether in cash or via a mobile application. None of those funds were ever listed properly through Bridge Reality and the rental account did not reflect the actual move-in date or money being received for this time period," according to the affidavit.
As the investigation progressed, it was also discovered that "property owners had paid Childs for construction and improvements on properties that were either never completed or the contractors were never paid," the affidavit states.
After a thorough investigation regarding properties that had funds unaccounted for, "Bridge Realty reported nearly 50 properties from throughout Carbon County being affected by this and provided a detailed accounting of funds that were missing or unaccounted for due to the actions of Childs," according to the affidavit. "The total loss associated with Childs's actions is listed to exceed $220,000."
Bridge Reality told police that Childs, who was hired in April of 2023, was not authorized to collect rent or accept payments.
