JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Residents at a Westside Jacksonville apartment complex said they were using the bathroom in buckets last year. Their water had been shut off — not because they hadn’t paid, but because JEA said their landlord didn’t.
RELATED: Residents fear eviction as foreclosure lawsuits hit complexes tied to troubled landlord
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The News4JAX I-Team found self-proclaimed billionaire Jarek Tadla was tied to that property and to more than a dozen other properties where JEA said a bill has not been paid, and has not been since October of 2025.
By May, JEA confirmed the company, Peoples’ Choice, owed $498,000 in unpaid bills.
Every attempt to get answers hit a wall — including multiple in-person visits to the property.
“Well, since October of last year, we’ve had 17 attempts at communication to try to resolve this issue. Nothing,” Myers Vasquez, a JEA spokesperson, said.
Vasquez said the scale of the problem is something JEA has never seen before.
" I’ve been here about two years now, but I’ve talked to coworkers who’ve been here much longer. This is the first time they’ve ever seen something this egregious — at this level — dealing with a multifamily commercial property," Vasquez said.
Buckets, unpaid bills, a policy change
It started at Arbor Oaks Apartments last September. When JEA cut water service over an unpaid bill, residents told Asebes they had no other option. I-Team Investigator John Asebes called JEA and was able to help get the water back on. It also pushed JEA to formalize a new policy: residents must be notified before water is ever shut off at a rental property.
“We would do flyers, we would try to do some kind of community engagement, and we would work with community partners and stakeholders… you can’t live without water,” Vasquez said.
Foreclosures, receivership make recovery an uphill battle
JEA said getting that $498,000 back won’t be simple. JEA said multiple of the properties connected to the company are going through receivership. Public records show 14 of the properties are facing foreclosure. JEA says pursuing the debt in court would likely mean going after the company’s LLC assets — a process the utility acknowledges would be an uphill legal battle.
“You ask yourself: is the juice worth the squeeze?” Vasquez said.
The property next door to Virginian Arms — Arbor Oaks Apartments is now managed by Legacy Family Communities which is linked to People’s Choice.
JEA said the new companies taking over any of the properties will start over with a fresh bill and fresh account.
$19 million in delinquent JEA accounts across Northeast Florida
The unpaid bills raised a bigger question: just how much money is JEA owed across its entire service area?
As of May 1, the answer is roughly $19 million. JEA reported approximately $4.7 million in delinquent commercial accounts — those 30 or more days past due — and about $14.3 million in delinquent residential accounts.
JEA said these are snapshot moments. JEA says nearly 75% of delinquent amounts are typically paid within 30 to 60 days across multiple billing cycles. Over the past year, the combined total fluctuated between $16 million and $30 million before settling near $19 million.
What happens when a bill goes unpaid
For renters in properties like those tied to the company — where tenants may pay electricity directly to JEA but pay water through their landlord — JEA says it won’t simply cut off service when a landlord falls behind, since tenants may be paying in good faith.
If anyone falls behind, Vasquez says the first step is a straightforward one.
“Call JEA,” Vasquez said.
For residential customers, JEA says electric service may be disconnected if a past-due balance goes unpaid after 49 days. If the balance is still unresolved, water service may be disconnected 10 days later. Accounts exceeding $5,000 may be sent to collections — something JEA says happened more than 21,000 times in 2025.
JEA said it wants to work with customers before it ever gets to that point.
“We ask that customers work with us to make sure they pay on time, or we can work something out with them — because, again, JEA wants to maintain that level of service for everyone,” Vasquez said.
Customers can find assistance resources and customer care contact numbers for both residential and commercial accounts.
You can call the residential customer care line at (904) 665-6000 or (800) 683-5542.
You can call customer care at (904) 665-6250.