October 30, 2025
The previous HOA president is accused of amassing reimbursement for companies that weren’t offered.
Householders within the Magnolia Stroll subdivision close to Atlanta have employed an audit workforce to evaluation their HOA funds following the arrest of their former president, Richard Austin, on fraud costs.
Austin is accused of stealing over $7,000 by submitting an bill for companies that by no means occurred. Householders stated they seen discrepancies within the HOA’s monetary information and contacted the police.
“We had been involved about cash being spent improperly, and companies being paid for that weren’t rendered,” Magnolia Stroll home-owner William Washington informed WSBTV Information.
In line with householders, Austin submitted a request for reimbursement for cameras he claimed had been put in close to the group poolhouse. Nonetheless, when authorities contacted the enterprise listed on the bill, they found that Austin had made no funds to the corporate and that no cameras had been put in. This led to police arresting Austin, who now faces costs of felony theft and deception.
The HOA paid a further $7,000 to have the cameras put in, which Austin by no means did. Williams said that Magnolia Stroll residents are at the moment ready for the audit outcomes and that, whereas they know there may be already a $7,000 loss, they anticipate it to extend. He famous that the alleged theft strained the HOA’s already tight funds.
“We are able to’t afford to overlook a penny,” Williams stated.
Austin’s arrest is the newest in a string of circumstances involving HOA leaders within the Atlanta space who’re going through related costs. In July, Tabetha Rowe, former president of the Camelot Condominium HOA in South Fulton County, was arrested and booked on a number of costs, together with two counts of first-degree forgery and theft by cast signature to assert possession of a property. Investigators say she signed householders’ names on a quitclaim deed and took possession of their models with out their information.
Jay Marshall Cain, 77, treasurer of the Provincial Park Householders Affiliation in Carrollton, GA, was charged with Theft by Conversion and Forgery within the Second Diploma. Between 2022 and 2025, Cain allegedly appropriated hundreds of {dollars} in HOA funds for private bills.
If convicted, Austin might face one to fifteen years in jail, together with potential fines and restitution to victims.
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