Would you hand your house keys over to a convicted criminal?
The KHOU 11 I-Team discovered that's exactly what thousands of Texans do when they put their home up for sale.
The Texas Real Estate Commission has allowed thousands of people to practice real estate despite having a criminal record. Some crimes are as serious as felony theft and aggravated assault.
"Oh my goodness," said longtime realtor Charlene Cain. "I always thought our system was very careful, obviously it isn't. You don't want to put your client at risk."
Cathy Nelson is one of Cain's clients.
"It's very disturbing," Nelson said.
There are cases like that of Yvette Zachery. According to court records, she spent a year in prison for threatening to kill a woman at gunpoint, yet was allowed to keep her realtor's license.
Or the case of Michael Ponce, who stole a Rolex watch and sold it for $5,000 cash. He still has a real estate license, too.
Or Shamika Jones, who pleaded guilty to stealing $33,000 in checks, and is still allowed to sell homes today.
"That's not the kind of person that should have a key to the lock box on the house I'm selling," Nelson said.
So, how does it happen?
The Houston Association of Realtors said it can't do much about it because it's the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) that decides who gets a license and who doesn't.
"Our hands are tied," said HAR's Vice Chairperson Kenya Burell-Vanwormer. "Do we think this is something that the Texas Real Estate Commission should look further in to? Absolutely."
But the man in charge of TREC defended his agency.
"I trust the process that we have in place," said TREC Administrator Douglas Oldmixon.
I-Team: "If you have someone who has a penchant for stealing, why would you want them in somebody's home?"
Oldmixon: "Was it 10 years ago, 12 years go?"
Oldmixon said Texas law requires TREC to look at how relevant and recent was the crime. You can get a real estate license with minor misdemeanors on your record. If you already have a license, it takes a felony for the state to even consider revoking it.
"The process is solid," Oldmixon said. "It absolutely lives up to the standards that are embodied in the law."
But is Texas law too lenient?
Consider that more than 14,000 license holders have criminal histories. But over the past year, TREC only denied or revoked only 51 licenses—less than one percent.
Oldmixon's reaction to cases like Shamika Jones, the woman who stole more than $30,000 in checks: "Did we drop the ball? I don't know. If, in fact, there is any gap in our system, I want to make sure that the process is as solid as I believe it to be."
After the I-Team began asking questions, TREC is now reviewing Jones' license status.
Neither Shamika Jones nor Michael Ponce returned repeated requests for comments. Yvette Zachery's attorney, O.J. Lawal, said his client disclosed her aggravated assault conviction to TREC as required, and has completed anger management classes. He also said Zachery has done dozens of real estate transactions since then, without any problems.
