An investigation by CBC Nova Scotia has uncovered problems with a Halifax property management firm that has court judgments against it worth more than $123,000.

A former client of Maritime Property Management said problems at the firm began last fall, when Maritime Property Management took full control of another firm called Secure Property Management.

"The rent cheques that would be forwarded to us were a couple of days late," said Steve Cann, a property owner and former client of Maritime Property Management.

"The accounting would be a couple of weeks late. Then it was longer than that. And then it took us from — to get the year-end report it took us until almost April. And the rent cheques kept being five, six days late getting into our accounts."

Steve Cann is owed $12,500 by Maritime Property Management. (CBC)

Cann and his wife own four townhouses and a set of flats. They had been customers of Secure Property Management for about 10 years.

Cann said when he first noticed the problems, he spoke with Iris Procenko — the owner of the two management companies.

"She indicated they'd been having some problems with their accounting but they would be getting that into order and that things would start showing up on time and regularly," Cann said.

"It never did."

10 judgments

CBC News found 10 judgments in Nova Scotia Small Claims Court against Maritime Property Management, Secure Property Management and/or their owner, Procenko.

The judgments were for seven property owners, a home heating oil company, a temp agency and a credit card company. Cann and his wife won a judgment of more than $12,500.

The temp agency, Supertemp, had provided the management companies with an accountant but the cheques that were used to pay him bounced. Supertemp received a judgement of more than $18,900.

George Mencher owns a condo that was looked after by Secure Property Management. He said problems started earlier this year.

"They actually did send us monthly statements," Mencher said in an interview with CBC News.

"The monthly statements show how much we are entitled to. But how much we are entitled to and how much we've received are two completely different things."

'We switched management companies'

Cann said after getting several late payments from his management company, his bank warned him that one payment had bounced.

"That happened on a Thursday," Cann said. "On Monday, I went in and met with Iris and again we got the story that the problem was with the bank that we're dealing with and that it would be rectified. She was meeting with the bank the next day and it would be rectified and the money that she owed us would be forthcoming the day after."

Cann said that never happened.

​"After trying for about two more weeks to try and talk to her, we switched management companies," he said.

"We obtained the rent cheques from Maritime Property, switched property management firms so that no more money went into her hands because we had no way of knowing whether we could recover it or whether it would just also disappear."

'Immediately' filed claim

Mencher also contacted Procenko about missing or late payments. He said she sent him a cheque.

"Unfortunately, the cheque was not honoured," Mencher said.

George Mencher now manages his own property. (CBC)

"When I went to see her about it, she declined the opportunity to see me and we immediately then filed a claim in small claims court and have gone through the process and have a judgment against them."

That judgment is for more than $5,500.

Procenko emailed CBC News on Tuesday and said several of the property owners have "received the entire balance in their account and there is no further issue."

"Some of the Secure owners demanded payment and were paid (in some cases more than they were owed) while others were asked to wait for payment until their accounts could be resolved," she wrote.

"Secure is prepared to pay out the Small Claims Court judgments and in fact has already paid out some of them."

Mencher now manages his own property and he said he'll never again operate the way he did.

"What you want to do is have the tenant write the cheque to you and then you pay the company. That way they can't abscond with any of your funds."

'It makes me a little angry'

Cann said the experience has left him wary.

"It makes me a little angry," he said. "I'm worried that somebody else might be caught up in the same thing, it might happen to someone else. The list might get longer."

Both Cann and Mencher have spoken to police.

CBC News first learned of Procenko and her management company in the spring. That's when owners in the Oxford Court condo complex in south-end Halifax called police after noticing what they described as discrepancies in the corporation's finances. Procenko was managing the condo complex at the time.

"There is an ongoing investigation regarding these funds and I cannot comment except to say that all of the other condominium corporations under our management have had audits completed and there are no issues," Procenko wrote.

When contacted last week about that investigation, a police spokesperson said there were "several" files on that matter and it was part of an ongoing investigation.

CBC News tried to reach Procenko before versions of this story were published or broadcast. She did not respond until after the story was published.

"I appreciate that in the absence of my perspective, this news report showed Secure, Maritime and myself in an unfavourable light," she wrote.

"I have been advised by counsel to make no further comment."