OAKLAND — A property manager for an Oakland Housing Authority apartment complex was fired and charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing $5,000 in property from a tenant’s unit, according to court records.
Tori Kirby-Demanzo, whose name is also listed as Tori Jackson, was charged with grand theft and receiving stolen property. But authorities say Kirby-Demanzo is also under investigation in a more widespread fraud case, involving allegations she received deposits from potential tenants and secretly rented vacant units to them, while pocketing the funds.
In the grand theft case, prosecutors claim that Kirby-Demanzo cleaned out a TV, a $2,000 Ottoman, a mattress and bed frame and even paintings that were painted by the alleged victim. Kirby-Demanzo allegedly told police she believed the unit had been abandoned, according to court records.
“(Kirby-Demanzo) was unable to provide any of the appropriate documentation, such as inventory paperwork of (the alleged victim’s apartment) which a person with Tori’s 20 years of property management experience would know to document,” an Oakland Housing Authority police investigator wrote in court filings.
Kirby-Demanzo, 38, was released from jail at an October court hearing, records show. She has not yet entered a plea. Her defense attorney’s name was not listed in court filings and couldn’t be reached.
As this case goes through the court system, police investigators have launched a larger fraud probe over allegations that Kirby-Demanzo pocketed thousands in deposits from people who wished to rent units at the Mandela Gateway apartment complex in West Oakland, where she worked, then drafted fraudulent agreements and represented to them that they’d been accepted as tenants.
Authorities say the alleged fraud victims were in units that remained listed as “vacant” and that the rental agreements were invalid, and that none of the victims were on a wait list for OHA units that has more than 5,000 people. The OHA is the city’s public housing agency and provides residences for low-income people.
The fraud investigation remains active and no charges have been filed, according to court records.