> JAIL THAT LANDLORD! Property Manager arrested for rent theft.

I firmly believe that 80% of landlords belong in jail for various criminal acts.  Primarily fraud and security deposit theft.

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - A federal lawsuit is now filed against the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, and one of its employees is in jail.

Local 12 is investigating allegations of rent theft against a CMHA property manager and allegations of civil rights violations against CMHA itself. The property manager under arrest is Dion Crockett, 55. He is charged with theft, forgery, and tampering with records related to allegations he stole tenants’ rent.

Those tenants are suing CMHA because they say the housing authority knew the theft was happening and proceeded with evictions anyway.

"I'm out the money, so I'm just, I don't know what's going on,” James Morris said.

Morris is one of the elderly tenants who says his rent was ripped-off by one of CMHA's property managers. He then received an eviction notice from CMHA for non-payment of rent. Pamela Brown said it happened to her too.

Local 12 asked her what she thought when she first saw the eviction notice.

"What the hell?” Brown said. “I have every receipt, every receipt for my nine years being in this building."

She, along with potentially dozens of other tenants, say she gave her rent to Crockett. Marvin Barnes showed us copies of the money orders he says he gave Crockett. They have Crockett's name in the "Pay to" line instead of CMHA.

"I sent the letter to them in April of 2025,” said Barnes of the notification he sent CMHA informing it of the money order.

But Crockett wasn't fired until December of 2025.

"I mean, it's sad,” said Barnes. “It's like they were protecting him. That's what we feel."

Barnes, Brown, and others filed a federal lawsuit against CMHA. The eight counts include violations of the Federal Housing Act, Due Process, the Ohio Landlord-Tenant Act, and Breach of Contract. Local 12 was curious how CMHA could have hired Crockett. A current job opening for a CMHA property manager shows a background check is necessary.

When Local 12 checked Crockett's court records in Hamilton County, they showed a number of civil and criminal cases brought against him. In some he was convicted—like in a forgery case from the early 2000s and a menacing conviction as late as 2023. CMHA hired Crockett in 2024.

“Hold everyone accountable that's involved,” said Barnes. “And for this to never happen again."

Local 12 is seeking accountability as well. So an open records request was filed, asking, "What criteria does CMHA use in evaluating background checks?" And "How can CMHA pursue eviction proceedings when it knew of the rent theft allegations?"

A CMHA spokesperson gave a written statement, but it was not responsive to those questions.

"CMHA cannot comment on the litigation, but we understand the concerns of residents who received the notices.

At CMHA, we provide quality, affordable housing for Hamilton County’s vulnerable individuals and families. With that said, we collect monthly rent from residents to continue the daily operations at each property.

Our process for collecting rents is as follows:

    Rents must be paid through either our online portal or through a designated vendor
    Rents are due by the 7th of each month
    If an individual doesn’t pay current or past rent, a 30-day notice is sent alerting him/her and sharing the options to assist them. These notices that were delivered at the beginning of April were to provide the individuals an opportunity to correct the situation or come and speak to property management about their situation.

We have had specific times set aside for residents to meet with property management to discuss their account delinquency, the current/past payment due, or a payment plan. Residents may still make an appointment with the property management office to discuss their accounts. To date, property management has met with 48 of the 58 who received 30-day notices. Residents who provided verifiable documentation of unposted payments were credited accordingly, reducing their balances. To date, 15 residents have filed police reports for theft of rent payments, and 11 residents have received credits to their accounts based on evidence of the theft.

As it pertains to the concerns of the actions of a former property manager, all of the information CMHA had was turned over to the Cincinnati Police Department for investigation and the Hamilton County Prosecutor. The investigation is working its way through the process.

Touchstone Property Services staff continue to hold resident meetings to provide residents with an opportunity to share information and address their concerns."

https://local12.com/news/local/federal- … ton-county