Pinellas woman stole $228K from HOAs to buy Bucs tickets, pay own bills, deputies say

A 46-year-old Tarpon Springs woman has been arrested after authorities say she took more than $228,300 from homeowner association accounts she managed and used the money to pay for personal expenditures.

As an accounting manager at First Choice Association Management, Jamie Fonville was tasked with overseeing bank accounts that belonged to 58 different homeowner associations and issuing checks on their behalf, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

A complaint about possible fraudulent activity was made in February. Detectives from the agency’s economic crimes unit investigated and discovered Fonville had used the account information from three homeowner associations to create fraudulent checks that she then deposited into her personal bank account, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday.

Once the money was in her account, Fonville used it to pay for living expenses such as food and groceries, investigators say. She also used the funds to buy tickets for Tampa Bay Buccaneers games and pay her credit card bills, according to the release.

Fonville was arrested on Friday and taken to the Pinellas County Jail, the Sheriff’s Office said. She faces three counts of scheme to defraud.

The amount taken from the homeowner associations totals an estimated $228,300.83, but detectives think Fonville took additional funds from other accounts, the release said. Anyone who has information about the ongoing investigation is asked to contact Cpl. Kyle Cruise at 727-582-5711.