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.
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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)
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