ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. -- A former employee was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday for stealing more than $700,000 from homeowners associations in metro Denver.

Stacey Lynn Chevarria, who worked for Vista Management in Westminster, admitted she stole the money, authorities said. She was sentenced in Adams County District Court.

The thefts surfaced in October 2009 when Vista Management President Cindy Combs and her bookkeeper were trying to reconcile bank books and discovered money missing, police said.

Police soon arrested Chevarria who had worked for the Vista Management, which manages finances for more than 40 homeowners associations.

The Vista Management case and an unrelated Denver HOA theft involving hundreds of thousands of dollars raised questions about HOAs' financial controls.

An arrest affidavit indicated that Chevarria began taking money from the HOA account in May 2009, and that she used it for living expenses.

The affidavit also said that Chevarria admitted it was wrong to steal and wanted to pay Vista Management back.

Last November, the manager of the Portico Homeowners Association in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood was charged with the theft of $308,000.

Police said they think Tamara Jane Chmelka used the money to gamble in Black Hawk.

An internal audit showed the pilfering at Portico had been going on since 2005.

“That is very disconcerting,” Rita Guthrie of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Community Associations Institute told 7NEWS. “It is of great concern, I think, to anyone in this industry.”

Guthrie said both alleged embezzlement cases are wake-up calls.

“HOA boards have the fiduciary responsibility to protect the homeowner’s money and property,” Guthrie said.

Guthrie said homeowners, HOA board members and management companies should make sure that financial controls are in place to lessen the likelihood of embezzlement.

Among her suggestions:

a dual check approval process

contract oversight

monthly reconciliation of bank statement

regular audits