Blake Floyd Cozzens of Cedar City, Utah, was sentenced today to 25 months’ imprisonment for wire fraud and bank fraud for embezzling money from homeowners associations (HOAs), property owners, and tenants, as well as fraudulently obtaining money from a bank and a company that provided property management software.
According to the charges against him, Cozzens was the property manager for multiple HOAs and property owners in Iron County, Utah, from January 2020 to January 2025. Cozzens defrauded HOAs, property owners, and tenants by embezzling $586,300 he was responsible for safekeeping and diverting the funds for his own use. He also submitted fraudulent deposits to an online application that helps manage properties. The California corporation that offers the application lost $210,000 due to Cozzens’s fraudulent conduct.
Cozzens was also responsible for defrauding a Las Vegas bank by presenting seven cashier’s checks totaling $1.41 million to local casinos in exchange for markers (i.e., credits to gamble). After gambling, Cozzens then falsely reported to the bank that he had lost the checks, causing the bank to stop payments to the casinos. This scheme caused the bank to lose $1.39 million.
Cozzens pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and bank fraud charges in March. Along with his term of imprisonment, he was also sentenced to four years of supervised release and ordered to pay $2.16 million in restitution to the victims.
“For over five years, Cozzens abused his position as a property manager to steal and cheat people and businesses to fund his gambling lifestyle,” said US Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. “As homeowners struggle with affordability, the last thing they need to worry about is that their hard-earned money paid to HOAs will be stolen from those entrusted to serve them.”
Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s Office
