A former property manager for a Union City apartment complex has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $100,000 in rent money.

Shannon Denise Howard, 43, must also pay full restitution of $110,000 in addition to serving the prison sentence handed down this week by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Christopher Basher.

According to Yvette Jones, spokeswoman for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, Howard, who was employed by Elon Property Management, was assigned to work as an on-site property manager for Oakley Woods Apartments in Union City, and during a routine June 2012 audit, auditors noticed discrepancies between the rent payments recorded in the ledger and the amount deposited into the property’s bank account.

“When questioned about the disparity during the audit, Howard briefly excused herself to tend to a ‘sick child,’ and never returned,” Jones said in an email. “She was eventually arrested.”

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