The former general manager of a homeowners’ association in Cypress, TX has been charged with illicitly spending more than $53,000 of the HOA’s funds on DoorDash, Amazon, and other personal expenses.
Shiesha Laquette Sparrow, 50, was arrested on a felony theft charge after officials with the Lakewood Forest Homeowners Association accused her of using the HOA’s credit cards to cover thousands of dollars in personal expenditures.
Sparrow’s alleged crimes were discovered in September 2025, when a new general manager took over her position, according to a warrant affidavit filed by Bobby Ramirez, a corporal with the Harris County Constables Precinct 4.
The employee Tammie Smith told Ramirez that she discovered a binder full of unopened bank statements behind a desk in the HOA’s office, and after reviewing them discovered dozens of unauthorized transactions unrelated to HOA responsibilities.
Charges included T-Mobile cell phone bill payments and unauthorized non-business-related Amazon purchases along with nearly $42,000 in transfers to Sparrow’s personal account via CashApp, according to the affidavit.
Sparrow also allegedly used the HOA’s business credit card to pay her home’s energy bill. In total, investigators tracked $53,630.77 in unauthorized spending between April 2024 and September 2025, Ramirez said in the affidavit.
Sparrow has been charged with third-degree felony theft, and faces a potential prison sentence of two to ten years and a fine of up to $10,000. She is currently free on a $20,000 bond, and her court-appointed defender did not respond to a request for comment from Realtor.com.
Disturbing trend of HOA fraud
The Lakewood Forest case is the latest in a series of high-profile HOA scandals across the country.
Last month, Marglli Gallego, the former president of the Hammocks Community Association, in Miami-Dade County, Florida, pleaded guilty to racketeering and grand theft in what is considered the largest HOA fraud in U.S. history.
Gallego and her husband were convicted of stealing over $11 million from the community of nearly 18,000 residents through sham vendors and inflated contracts. Gallego pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and was sentenced to seven years in prison, while her husband received seven years on probation.
In another recent case, a former HOA bookkeeper was arrested and charged with stealing over $200,000 from two HOAs—Whitemarsh Reserve Homeowners Association and The Dunes of Hutchinson Island—by writing personal checks to herself.
Alexandra Delacaridad Gonzalez, faces 124 felony charges, including multiple first-degree counts of fraud and grand theft, after authorities say that while working at Avant Garde Property Management she forged the signatures of authorized account holders on checks made out to herself.
According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, the stolen funds were used for personal expenses, including shopping, plastic surgery, and vacations.
How HOA members can protect themselves
HOA fraud and theft isn’t as uncommon as one might think. According to Kevin Davis Insurance Specialists, which specialize in homeowners association insurance, there are several things HOAs can do to safeguard members, including maintaining separate operating and reserve funds; requiring countersignatures on all expenses; and requiring background checks on potential board members.
One major way to help prevent fraud in your HOA is simply to become an active member of your HOA’s community.
According to the Community Associations Institute, only 10–15% of homeowners regularly attend HOA meetings, which allows boards to operate with little scrunity.
Experts also recommend that HOA boards require monthly bank statement reviews by multiple members and conduct regular independent audits to ensure that community dues aren’t being used for improper purposes.
