GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Where’s the money? It’s the question everyone is asking and the people with that answer, Rachel and Brian Cartwright – the owners of Bravo Property Management, aren’t talking.
“It hurt me real bad. I thought our friendship, to me, it was real special and I just figured that she would not do that to me. But she did,” said Tommy Bradford, a former client of Bravo.
Bradford owns several duplexes that he rents to help with retirement. He hired Bravo to collect the money and troubleshoot maintenance problems. However, in January, the Cartwrights stopped sending the rent. He later discovered that the company had also failed to pay the property taxes.
“That amounted to $19,000 and something dollars,” explained Bradford. “They were going to put my properties up for sale there on the city square.”
Bradford had to immediately write a check for the past two years of taxes owed. He showed us his text conversation with Rachel, where she seemed to admit Bravo owed him more than $40,000. Six months later, he’s still asking… "Where’s the money?"
Christy Ledlum, the owner of All County Legacy Property Management, is now working with several of the Cartwrights' former clients to help them get their properties back on track.
“Most of them are not just rolling around in money,” said Ledlum.
11Alive Investigates found 18 police reports and lawsuits across the northeastern part of the metro accusing the Cartwrights of taking their money. If their claims are true, that’s more than $590,000 that should have been kept in secure bank accounts, which is now unaccounted for.
The accusations range from an HOA that discovered its bank account had been emptied to a nonprofit that helps families get stable housing. HomeStretch said in its lawsuit that it hired Bravo to handle rent and security deposits from the families in its program, families that could otherwise be homeless.
“That is either the tenants' money or the owners' money,” said Ledlum, confused as to how that money could disappear if Bravo were properly managing its books.
Ledlum says property management companies are paid a fee for their services. At her office, the rest—from the safety deposits to the rent checks—are reconciled every week.
“You know you're taking something that isn't yours,” she added, pondering allegations that the couple spent the money themselves.
11Alive tried to talk with the Cartwrights about their process, but their business location is closed. Every number posted on their website or used by former clients was disconnected and no one responded at their house.
In Georgia, a property management company like Bravo needs a real estate broker, someone who checks the books to ensure the company does the right thing and doesn’t disappear.
Bravo’s broker was State Senator Clint Dixon. He was in session as people like Bradford were fighting for their money.
Dixon says he’d received some complaints from clients before the session, but when he approached the Cartwrights, they always resolved the issue.
Dixon says he agreed to be Bravo’s broker as a favor to the couple.
“(I) knew Rachel from high school. Her and Brian were buying a company, and, came to me… basically, they were going to do the day-to-day operations, and, they said we'd meet once a month to go over the books and show me, you know, how their ledgers were working,” Dixon explained.
However, Dixon says face-to-face meetings turned into emails, and then reports wouldn’t show up unless he asked.
“It got to the point where I was requesting them multiple times before they would send them,” said Dixon.
Dixon insists that when he did get the books, they were always in order. When he became aware that the Cartwrights had stopped responding to customers, he shut the company down.
Still, property owners who have now filed police reports and lawsuits against Bravo argue Dixon should have taken the red flags more seriously and pulled his brokerage earlier from their firm before their money went missing.
Dixon says he’s focused on what can be done to help clients recoup their money.
“The Cartwrights need to be brought to justice. And that's the bottom line,” said Dixon.
But what is justice? Landlords first went to police in Braselton, where Bravo’s office was located. Investigators closed every single case, calling it a civil matter, essentially a breach of contract.
According to Gwinnett County court records, one person won a default judgment for $31,000. But even after subpoenaing records from two banks, they haven’t been able to find the money to collect.
“The tenants paid every month, every month. All of them. And Rachel kept the money. I feel that’s more like a criminal case,” argues Bradford, pushing back against the notion that this is just a civil matter.
Several former clients, including Bradford, have now filed reports in Gwinnett County since that’s where their properties are located. The finance crimes division has confirmed that it is investigating the situation to determine whether it can make a case.
A woman claiming to be Rachel texted 11Alive Investigates after she left her business card at the Cartwrights' house. When 11Alive tried to call the number, it wouldn’t accept calls. However, in the text exchange, Rachel Cartwright debated whether to do an interview, ultimately deciding not to and refusing to answer any questions.
Property owners say Rachel Cartwright used a number of excuses to justify the failed payments, from changing banks to failed wire transfers. She also claimed a series of medical problems, but clients argue, if true, that could justify delaying payments. It wouldn’t explain why she no longer had the money to pay them at all.
In the text chain with 11Alive, the person also listed medical appointments as a reason for needing to delay an interview. In her last communication with 11Alive, the person wrote, “There are so many factors tied into this. I’m trying to include everything I have.” That was August. 11Alive Investigates has not received an explanation or statement from the Cartwrights or a representative of Bravo Property Management.
The Georgia Real Estate Commission is also investigating complaints but says it could take more than a year to research the cases.
In the meantime, several property owners are hoping to make a claim with the Real Estate Education, Research, and Recovery Fund, which will help reimburse the losses for anyone who files a lawsuit, wins a favorable judgment, but is unable to recover the money lost.