Former Mount Vernon mobile home park manager accused of derecho fraud

A former manager of a mobile home park in Mount Vernon is facing charges of theft and fraud after police say he lied to his employer about damages in the 2020 derecho.

Antonio Govea, 44, of Mount Vernon, is charged with ongoing criminal conduct, first-degree theft, money laundering, first-degree fraudulent practice and two counts of forgery.

Govea was employed as the park manager of Colonial Estates Mobile Home Park at 1225 First Ave. NW, Mount Vernon, between July 1, 2020, and May 15, 2022, according to a criminal complaint.

After the derecho, Govea told Birch Realty, the company that owns the park, that certain mobile homes there had been irreparably damaged in the storm and that he needed the titles to the property so he could work directly with a salvage and demolition contractor to dispose of the homes, according to an application for injunction filed by the property owners.

Govea then transferred the titles for those mobile homes into his own name and performed some minor repairs before continuing to rent out some of the homes without the knowledge or permission of the park owners. He transferred ownership of two other trailers to other individuals, the injunction application asserts.

Govea filed fraudulent paperwork with the Linn County Treasurer’s Office regarding the sale of mobile homes, and made more than $10,000 in profit from the fraud, the criminal complaint states.

The park owners requested that the court put an injunction on Govea and the other individuals to whom he had transferred mobile homes in order to prevent them from moving the homes that are currently in their names until after the criminal proceedings.

The application for an injunction was filed Feb. 3, and a response has not been filed yet.

Govea had his initial appearance last Thursday on the criminal charges, and was released from custody on a $25,000 surety bond.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com