Former Florida Real Estate Association CEO Arrested for $81,000+ of Unauthorized Transactions

-

Polk County’s small-town hum has a new, very loud cough: the East Polk County Association of Realtors (EPCAR) has been thrust into a tale that reads like a municipal soap opera with a bookkeeping twist. 

On Nov. 20, 2025, former EPCAR CEO Jennifer Garula-Mers, 53, was arrested and is accused of grand theft after Polk County detectives say the association lost $81,453.92 to a series of unauthorized transactions between 2020 and 2024.

If you prefer your scandals with receipts, PCSO and local reporting say the alleged ledger offenses included: multiple unauthorized salary increases and bonus payments to Garula-Mers, payroll checks issued to herself, repeated personal charges on the association credit card (dining, shopping, household goods), and an unauthorized change to the association’s contribution rate to her personal retirement account. 

The total loss is specific enough to have made the accountants blush: $81,453.92.

How did this come to light? 

President RJ Webb — yes, the guy who runs the meeting and notices when the budget looks funny — first flagged irregularities in September 2024 when he began seeing suspicious transactions and asked for documentation. 

When Garula-Mers allegedly refused to produce the financial records, Webb took the kind of step that small-town drama rarely expects: he filed a civil lawsuit. 

After being terminated in August 2024, Garula-Mers was later the subject of a criminal probe that culminated in this week’s arrest — reportedly after the association’s interim executive director brought the matter to deputies.

If courtroom scenes had a subplot for intrigue, this one includes intimidation: deputies allege Garula-Mers hired David Stachowiak, who was arrested in October 2024 on related felony counts, after making a threatening phone call to Webb and Webb’s father during the civil action. 

Prosecutors say the voicemail included menacing language; investigators traced the call and Stachowiak’s involvement. 

Those charges — extortion and tampering among them — added a second act to the unfolding scandal.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd held a news conference in which he did not spare the theatrics. 

“When the new president comes in and says there’s a problem, the executive board of directors ignores him, chastises him, and suggests he not only leave the association but the presidency,” Judd said, questioning why internal concerns weren’t addressed sooner. 

The sheriff’s office says the investigation was cooperative after the interim director finally reported the allegations to deputies.

What happens next? 

Garula-Mers was taken into custody by the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office on the PCSO warrant and faces a felony grand theft charge (over $20,000 and less than $100,000). 

The case will move through criminal court; as always with arrests, accused does not equal convicted — the legal process remains. 

Meanwhile, EPCAR is left to repair finances, reputations, and trust — a task that usually costs more than the numbers on a balance sheet.

Takeaway for community leaders: small organizations need strong financial controls, independent audits, and a culture where a whistleblower isn’t ostracized for asking where the money went. 

Also: Never ignore a carefully kept receipt.


'You Can't Buy Land Here'--- How Florida Told Some Foreigners “No, Thanks” (and the 11th Circuit Said Maybe)

“No paywall. No puppets. Just local truth. Chip in $3 today” at https://buymeacoffee.com/doublejeopardynews

“Enjoy this content without corporate censorship? Help keep it that way.”

“Ad-Free. Algorithm-Free. 100% Independent. Support now.”


#EPCAR #JenniferGarulaMers #GrandTheft #PolkCounty #RJWebb #RealEstateScandal #AuditDrama #PayrollMystery #CreditCardCaper #SpringHillFL #Stachowiak #ExtortionAllegation #PCSO #BoardroomBetrayal #WhoChecksTheBooks

Sources (brief): Polk County Sheriff’s Office briefing and press materials; local reporting from FOX 13 Tampa Bay and The Ledger (Tampa Bay regional coverage), NewsChief/WFTS summaries of the arrest and investigation. (Facebook)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Please Help Find These Forgotten Girls Held at Male Juvenile Prison for Over a Year!

-
Image
  MY MOST IMPORTANT STORY  Dozens of Forgotten Little Girls Held at Male Juvenile Prison for Over a Year! Welcome to the Sunshine State, where the palm trees sway, the alligators lurk, and the legislative process makes Kafka look like a life coach!  Florida House Bill HB21 . Not just a compensation bill but possibly a 20 million dollar "Stay out of Jail Free" card for some folks. This is a bill that does some good—but also trips over its own shoelaces, falls down a staircase, and lands on a historical oversight so big, it might as well have its own zip code! An oversight that overlooks what I consider to be its most vulnerable victims! The Setup: Justice with a Catch HB21 was enacted on July 1, 2024 to compensate victims of abuse from two male juvenile detention facilities located in Florida, Dozier and Okeechobee.  It says, “Hey, survivors of abuse between 1940 and 1975, here’s some compensation for the horrific things you endured!” Sounds good, right? Like a...
Read more

Here's A New HOA Rule Dictating What You Can Do Inside Your Home

-
Image
HOA Overreach: When Your Own Home Isn’t Really Your Own The joys of homeownership—the American dream!  That magical place where you can paint the walls any color you like, blast your music (within reason), and enjoy the simple pleasure of—wait, never mind..... Turns out, your HOA might have something to say about what you do inside your own four walls. Case in point: A longtime homeowner, who has peacefully lived in his residence for 25 years, was blindsided when his HOA suddenly banned smoking inside individual homes.  That’s right—after a quarter-century of no issues, he was informed that lighting up indoors was no longer an option.  The new rule, passed at the HOA’s annual meeting by a majority vote, now restricts smoking to a designated outdoor area. Now, while some might see this as a health-conscious decision, the homeowner—whose wife is a smoker—sees it as an unfair overreach.  In a letter to a local publication, he expressed frustration, writing, “I’ve live...
Read more

Postal Police Stuck Behind ‘Keep Out’ Signs While Mailmen Face Muggers: You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!!

-
Image
As crime against letter carriers surges, one would think that America’s armed, uniformed Postal Police might be hitting the streets to protect our mail.  Instead, they’re still glued to their post office entrances like sentries guarding Fort Frownmore.  Why?  Because since 2020, the Postmaster General decreed they must “protect postal property” only—meaning, they currently serve as glorified lobby bouncers rather than actual roaming guardians of the mailstream. “ They’re robbing letter carriers, they’re sticking a gun in a letter carrier’s face and they’re demanding arrow keys, ” laments Frank Albergo , president of the National Postal Police Union and a Postal Police Officer himself.  An "arrow key" in the context of the Post Office is a specialized, universal key that postal workers use to access various locked mail receptacles, including collection boxes, apartment mailboxes, and cluster boxes. Albergo isn’t exaggerating—research shows over 100 physical assaul...
Read more