Denver HOA Accuses Former Manager of Stealing $55K and Leaving the Group Penniless

A Denver homeowners association has filed a lawsuit accusing its former HOA manager of stealing more than $55,000 and leaving the group penniless.

In the complaint filed on May 6 in Arapahoe County District Court, the 29th Drive Row Homes HOA accused the president of Avenue One, Brett Hardt, of civil theft and unjust enrichment.

More than a year after the HOA fired Avenue One, Hardt used his access to the group's bank account to drain the entire balance of $55,012.88, transferring the funds to an account he controlled, according to the complaint filed by the HOA's attorney, Christopher S. Maciejewski.

Michelle Lee, a former employee of Avenue One who was tasked with bringing on new HOA clients, tells Realtor.com® in an exclusive interview that she left the firm over differences with Hardt, alleging he lacked candor in their dealings.

"I brought like 60 associations to Avenue One. Basically, my salary was tied to the associations that I managed, and Brett would lie and tell me, 'These associations don't want to work with you anymore,' and reduce my salary. I just took him at his word," she says.

But Lee says she soon began getting calls from HOAs asking why she had missed meetings.

"Board members started calling me and saying, 'What's going on? Who's managing the association?'" says Lee. "I said, 'Oh, my God, Brett told me that you didn't want to work with me anymore.' Time after time, they would say, 'We haven't even talked to anybody at Avenue One, let alone told him that.'"

Lee says that prompted her to take action.

"After the fifth or sixth time, it was blatantly clear to me that the guy totally screwed me," says Lee. "I was either going to lose the clients entirely, or leave and start a new company, so that's what I did."

HOA fires Avenue One, hires Lee

According to the civil complaint, Lee left Avenue One in late 2023 and formed a new community association management company called Mile High Management Associates.

In November 2023, 29th Drive terminated its management contract with Avenue One and hired Lee's firm, MHMA, as its management company.

No issues surfaced until May 2025, more than a year later, when a big bank transfer appeared out of the blue and sparked major concern.

"Approximately 18 months after 29th Drive terminated Avenue One as its community association management company, Hardt used his online banking credentials and information obtained as President of Avenue One to access 29th Drive’s bank account at Community Banks of Colorado," Maciejewski wrote in the lawsuit.

Maciejewski alleges in the complaint that on May 7, 2025, Hardt transferred the entire contents of 29th Drive’s bank account to another account that he controlled at the same bank.

Demands for missing funds

Lee, the former Avenue One employee who was now managing the HOA with her own firm, says that at first, she believed the transfer was a simple mistake.

"Some management companies obviously manage multiple clients with multiple bank accounts—and I could see how the error could happen," says Lee. "So I reached out to Brett and his controller."

But Lee says Hardt still hasn't responded to her or her lawyer's multiple demands to replace the missing funds.

"He hasn't responded and hasn't put the money back—so I can't get on board with 'it's a mistake' any longer," she says.

Maciejewski, the HOA's attorney, tells Realtor.com, "Brett Hardt and Avenue One have failed to respond to multiple demands to return the funds, including a written demand from my office on October 17, 2025."

Realtor.com contacted Hardt for comment, but did not hear back.

HOA forced to borrow money

The HOA has had to borrow funds to replace the amounts transferred out of 29th Drive’s account and to pay association expenses.

"Because these funds were stolen from 29th Drive’s reserve account, the Association is in the process of obtaining a loan to cover a shortfall of approximately $45,000 on a recently completed roof replacement project," says Maciejewski.

The lawsuit requests at least $165,000 in damages, equal to three times the amount allegedly stolen from the HOA—plus attorney fees and costs under the civil theft statute.

Attorney Chad D. Cummings of Cummings & Cummings Law, who is an expert in real estate law but is not connected to the Denver case, says that lack of proper oversight is a key factor behind a rash of recent financial scandals involving HOAs.

"The real problem is that most states do not regulate HOA managers at all," Cummings tells Realtor.com. "This is part of the reason that HOAs seem to be the Wild, Wild West."