CINCINNATI — A former property manager with the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority appeared before a judge for the first time Friday after a grand jury indicted him on allegations that he stole rent payments from tenants.
Dion Crockett, 55, made his court appearance as several alleged victims urged the judge to keep him in custody.
“This man, he took my money. They put me out; evicted me wrongfully,” one alleged victim said.
Prosecutors allege Crockett stole rent payments from residents at The Evanston. According to investigators, he cashed tenants’ money orders instead of applying the payments to their rental accounts.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said the alleged theft totaled nearly $45,000, with 18 victims identified so far. Investigators believe additional victims may exist, and those figures could still increase.
“Scams are happening all over the place. But this one was particularly horrifying to me because these are just people who were defrauded out of their rent…by someone who was in a position of trust,” Pillich said.
Crockett faces multiple charges, including one count of theft in office, three counts of theft, one count of unauthorized use of property, one count of forgery, and one count of tampering with records.
Former CMHA Property Manager Accused of Stealing Tenants’ Rent Payments Appears in Court
WCPO reviewed Crockett’s history in Hamilton County and found several civil and criminal cases linked to him, including convictions in a separate forgery case in the early 2000s and a menacing case as recently as 2023.
CMHA hired Crockett in 2024, and he left the housing authority in December 2025.
One resident who attended Friday’s hearing did not hold back.
“Judge, he’s a snake!” the resident said.
Another resident said Crockett made her feel threatened.
“I was intimidated by him and threatened,” Patricia, an Evanston resident, said. “So, I don’t think he should be out or on the streets.”
Pillich said her office remains committed to pursuing cases involving fraud and abuse of trust.
“This sort of fraud is particularly nasty because it breaches the trust that one has that they can live safely in their home, fear from being thrown out onto the street with no place to go without much notice,” Pillich said.
She also pledged to continue advocating for victims.
“Every time this sort of thing comes up, we’re going to fight tooth and nail for justice,” Pillich said.
Following Friday’s hearing, Crockett posted bond. If convicted, he could face up to 10½ years in prison.
Prosecutor Says Victim Advocate Assigned as More Victims May Come Forward
Pillich said a victim advocate has been assigned to assist those impacted by the alleged scheme as they move through the legal process.
“We do have a victim advocate assigned to this case who is going to assist these victims through the court process,” Pillich said. “They sort of hold hands, figuratively speaking, they translate legalese into English, and they understand what the court process is, so they can help the victims and other witnesses understand when it’s their turn, what’s going on when the trial will happen, things like that.”
She also discussed the challenges involved in investigating financial crimes, noting that her office has maintained a dedicated fraud unit for about 25 years.
“You got to go line item through line item, tracing where money went, where it came from, and especially if it’s in a money order, knowing the money order number and where it got deposited,” Pillich said. “I mean, that’s painstaking work.”
Pillich added that the fraud unit plays a key role in the office’s elder justice efforts because older adults are often targeted by increasingly sophisticated scams.
She also highlighted what she views as a broader gap in state law. Pillich said that during her time in the state legislature, she supported a bill that would have required renters to receive notice before a property was foreclosed on or faced similar action, but the proposal did not move forward.
“Something like that could help people,” Pillich said.
WCPO has been following the case for weeks, first reporting on it in early April after several residents came forward with concerns.
To better protect residents, CMHA has required all payments for properties managed by Touchstone Property Services to be made digitally since January 2026.
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