Business owners plead not guilty to theft, fraudulent schemes

The two local business owners accused of fraudulent schemes and theft in the Foothills have pleaded not guilty to nine counts in a Yuma courtroom Monday.

Yvette Reckards, 54, and Michael Reckards, 61, both in custody, were charged after a grand jury issued an indictment against them.

Deputies said they received multiple reports of fraud in the Foothills and arrested the Reckards on January 27, 2019.

Authorities said Reckards failed to complete agreed transactions with several customers for months. These customers were looking to either purchase or sell an existing park model home.

News 11 dug deeper into the indictment to see why these charges were brought against both suspects.

The indictment reveals on two separate occasions, Yvette and Michael kept over $25,000 from their customers. It also revealed multiple instances where the Reckards cashed checks but failed to deliver property or failed to pay the money for the sale of a customer’s home.

News 11 searched on the Better Business Bureau website to find out the company’s standing. The website said the profile is being updated and will not allow you to read any existing reviews.

After searching Yvette’s Home Sales on Yelp, we found two scathing reviews.

One customer said, “D o not use this realtor. Yvette evaded my calls, text messages, and emails for 3 weeks with one excuse after another.”

Another said: “In my case, they failed to pay the taxes that they had deducted from the seller leaving us in danger of a tax lien for unpaid property taxes. They were also given money for repairs which they did not perform.”

The Reckards will be back in court next month.