Blake Floyd Cozzens, a 36-year-old property manager from Cedar City, Utah, has been sentenced to 25 months in federal prison for wire fraud and bank fraud. The sentencing took place in St. George, Utah, where U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby also ordered Cozzens to serve four years of supervised release after his prison term and pay $2,168,640 in restitution to the victims.
Court records show that between January 2020 and January 2025, Cozzens managed properties for several homeowners associations (HOAs) and property owners in Iron County, Utah. During this period, he embezzled $586,300 from HOAs, property owners, and tenants by diverting funds meant for safekeeping for his personal use. He also submitted fraudulent deposits to an online property management application provider based in California, causing the company to lose $210,000.
In addition to these actions, Cozzens defrauded a Las Vegas bank by presenting seven cashier’s checks totaling $1,414,000 at casinos in exchange for gambling credits. After gambling with the credits provided by the casinos—known as markers—he falsely reported to the bank that he had lost the checks. This led the bank to stop payments on those checks to the casinos and resulted in a loss of $1,395,673 for the financial institution.
U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah commented on the case: “For over five years, Cozzens abused his position as a property manager to steal and cheat people and businesses to fund his gambling lifestyle. 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.”
Glen Henderson, Inspector in Charge of the Phoenix Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service added: “When individuals in trusted roles commit financial crimes, they harm the very communities they are meant to serve. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to investigate fraud and ensure justice for victims.”
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service along with assistance from Cedar City Police Department and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Stephen P. Dent prosecuted the case on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
