New Orleans timeshare manager arrested on theft charges

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MANDEVILLE, LOUSIANA – The former manager of a timeshare resort was arraigned on March 13, on charges that she and her husband stole $169,000 from the property’s homeowners association, which was a not-for-profit operation.

Amanda Sturdivant, 42, of Covington, had been working as the office manager of Bon Temps Village, a timeshare resort in Mandeville, for the past three years. She was arrested by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office last month. The law enforcement agency charged that Sturdivant and her husband, Jimmy, has used the stolen money to purchase a car, and, taking money in the timeshare’s account, made an $8,000 deposit on the car.

The couple have pleaded not guilty. They’re also accused of using the stolen money to take vacations, rent a limousine, and finance private school tuition.

They were both charged with theft, while Amanda Sturdivant was also charged with bank fraud. The sheriff’s office said the latter charge was because Amanda Sturdivant had used a credit card to repay some of the money – a credit card that was in the name of her late grandmother.

Bon Temps Village is a member of RCI, the network of timeshares where owners can exchange vacation destinations.

“Southeastern Louisiana provides a rustic setting for Bon Temps Village,” the resort’s web site notes. “Designed to appeal to all types of vacationers, you can relax in the comfort of your own town house or visit Franco’s Athletic Club, located across the street.”

Franco’s offers spa services, hair salon and a Starbucks Coffee shop, while the popular and world famous New Orleans French Quarter is less than an hour’s drive away.

Bon Temps Village had been offering its guests two and three bedroom condominiums with kitchen, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer, fireplace, and air conditioning.

More than 400 guests now own a timeshare in Bon Temps.

RCI began getting complaints about this resort in 2011, when a group of the timeshare owners found they were unable to cash in their timeshare credits. An investigation of the property found there were so many unpaid bills that the resort had no insurance left and the taxes hadn’t been paid, either. The association was $70,000 in debt and its bank account had been emptied.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office spent six months investigating the case, and concluded that Amanda Sturdivant began stealing money shortly after she started working there in 2008.

The sheriff’s office determined she wrote herself two paychecks instead of one, and that over the next three years, more than 100 checks were written to pay the Sturdivants’ bills and mortgage. Private school tuition was even paid from the association’s account.

When the resort’s bills began adding up, the Sheriff’s Office said, Amanda Sturdivant wrote a check to the timeshare from her dead grandmother’s credit card account.

Jimmy Sturdivant was booked into the St. Tammany Parish jail on Feb. 1, and posted a $10,000 bond, while his wife was booked the next day and posted $175,000 bond.