POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Jennifer Garula-Mers, the former East Polk County Association of Realtors CEO, has been arrested on grand theft charges.
The backstory:
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Garula-Mers, 53, is accused of stealing more than $81,000 from the realtor association between 2020, when she was hired, and 2024, when she was fired. The former executive director allegedly increased her own salary and issued bonus payments.
PCSO says she used the stolen funds for personal purchases, including grooming supplies and beauty products.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd held a news conference at 3 p.m. Friday regarding findings from the investigation into Garula-Mers.
Timeline:
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, RJ Webb, the president of the relator association, and his father noticed unusual financial transactions being made on the association’s account. When Webb asked Garula-Mers for financial documents, she refused.
PCSO said Webb brought his concerns to the East Polk County Association of Realtors Board of Directors, who ultimately took Garula-Mer’s side, ignoring the president’s findings and even suggested he leave the association.
“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,” Sheriff Judd said. “But who was right here?”
Webb filed a civil lawsuit against Garula-Mers, and she was terminated from her job in August 2024. Deputies say that during the lawsuit, Garula-Mers allegedly hired David Stachowiak, 55, to make a phone call threatening Webb and his father that it ‘wouldn’t end well’ if they didn’t end the lawsuit.
“Eyyy, I run the streets of Chicago. I can just tell ya, this may not end well,” Judd said, referring to Statchwick’s threat.
On Sept. 16, 2024, PCSO detectives investigated the phone call that had been recorded by Webb, and tracked the call back to a phone in Orlando, which had been purchased for Stachowiak, after he had been hired by Garula-Mer’s to make the threatening phone call.
Stachowiak was arrested and booked on felony charges of extortion, tampering with evidence and use of two-way communication.Â
Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Judd says the good news is the new interim executive director came to deputies and reported the criminal allegations, which ultimately led to Garula-Mers being arrested on a warrant at her home in Hernando County Thursday. She faces a charge of grand theft of more than $20,000.
OTHER NEWS: Arrest made in road rage death of well-known local DJ
What’s next:
If Garula-Mers can’t make her bond in Hernando County, then she’ll be extradited back to Polk County.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.