CINCINNATI — A former Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority property manager faced a judge for the first time Friday after being indicted for allegedly stealing rental payments from tenants.
Dion Crockett, 55, appeared in court as alleged victims pleaded with a judge to keep him behind bars.
"This man, he took my money. They put me out; evicted me wrongfully," one alleged victim said.
Crockett is accused of stealing rent payments from residents of The Evanston. Prosecutors say he cashed tenants' money orders instead of applying them to their accounts.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said nearly $45,000 was stolen, and 18 victims have come forward. Investigators believe there are more victims in the case, and those numbers could change.
"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 is facing several 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.
WATCH: Crockett as he faces a judge for the first time since being indicted in early May
WCPO reviewed Crockett's history in Hamilton County, and he has several civil and criminal cases in Hamilton County, including convictions in a separate forgery case from the early 2000s and a menacing case as late as 2023.
CMHA hired Crockett in 2024. He left the housing authority in December 2025.
One resident at Friday's hearing did not hold back.
"Judge, he's a snake!" the resident said.
Another resident described feeling threatened by Crockett.
"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 will continue to pursue cases like this one.
"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.
Pillich also vowed to keep fighting on behalf of victims.
"Every time this sort of thing comes up, we're going to fight tooth and nail for justice," Pillich said.
Crockett posted bond following Friday's hearing. If convicted, he faces up to 10 1/2 years in prison.
Prosecutor: Victim advocate assigned, more victims may come forward
Pillich said a victim advocate has been assigned to the case to help those affected navigate the court 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."
Pillich also addressed the complexity of financial crimes investigations, noting that her office has maintained a dedicated fraud unit for roughly 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."
She said the fraud unit is also central to the office's elder justice efforts, given that older residents can be more vulnerable to sophisticated scams.
Pillich also pointed to what she described as a broader legislative gap, saying that when she served in the state house, she supported a bill that would have required renters to be notified before a property was foreclosed or subject to similar action, but she says it did not advance.
"Something like that could help people," Pillich said.
WCPO has been investigating this story for weeks, first covering it when multiple residents began coming forward in early April.
In an effort to protect residents, CMHA has digitized all payments for properties managed by Touchstone Property Services since January 2026.
