Utah property manager defrauded over $2 million to support gambling habits
A property manager in Utah has been sentenced to 25 months’ imprisonment for defrauding over $2 million to support his gambling habits.
Blake Floyd Cozzens, 36, was jailed for wire fraud and bank fraud for embezzling money from homeowners’ associations, property owners, and tenants, as well as fraudulently stealing money from a bank and a company that provided property-management software using his position as a property manager.
Cedar City Property Manager Sentenced to Prison After Defrauding Victims of Over $2.1M
Press Release: https://t.co/BMtsABZlFP pic.twitter.com/oIKcgGE1Ap
— US Attorney Melissa Holyoak (@USAttyHolyoak) December 16, 2025
US District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby also ordered Cozzens to take a term of four years of supervised release and pay $2,168,640 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.”
Cozzens wouldn’t be the first to turn to fraud to support a gambling lifestyle, with a similar crime committed over in the UK.
Millions of dollars were embezzled in Utah and Las Vegas
The fraud took place in both Iron County, Utah and Las Vegas. Between January 2020 and January 2025, Cozzens used his position as a property manager for several HOAs and individual owners to embezzle $586,300 that was meant to be safeguarded for property management, instead funnelling it into his own funds. He also submitted fraudulent deposits to an online property management system, stealing a further $210,000.
In Las Vegas, Cozzens defrauded a bank by handing in seven cashier’s checks with a value of $1,414,000 to Las Vegas casinos in exchange for markers, then falsely telling the bank that he had lost the checks. The bank stopped the payments to the casinos, resulting in losses to the bank of $1,395,673.
“When individuals in trusted roles commit financial crimes, they harm the very communities they are meant to serve,” said Glen Henderson, Inspector in Charge of the Phoenix Division. “The US Postal Inspection Service will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to investigate fraud and ensure justice for victims.”
Featured image: Washington County Police
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