(Source: NY State Police) On Friday, August 28, 2015, the New York State Police at Latham conducted an investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency- Office of Inspector General (EPA/OIG), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development- Office of Inspector General (HUD/OIG) and the Department of Homeland Security Federal Protective Service (DHS/FPS) which concluded with the arrest of 58 year old Charles...

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A former program manager for the Parma Public Housing Agency was sentenced Thursday to 16 months in federal prison for stealing $232,000 over six years. Amy Belz, 34, who is free on bond while she awaits a date to report to prison, tearfully apologized to the judge and her family during the sentencing hearing. She cited the effect on her two daughters. "Because of me, their lives were turned upside down," Belz said. In handing...

(Source: kens5.com) SAN ANTONIO – The embattled executive director of the Housing Authority of Bexar County has resigned, months after a federal audit found the agency misused more than $583,000 in funds. Albert “Buddy” Aleman resigned Aug. 19, effective immediately, a county spokeswoman said. Aleman’s resignation comes less than two months after Judge Nelson Wolff publicly called for his dismissal, and while the agency actively looked to find...

WASHINGTON – Edward Dacy, 77, most recently of West Melbourne, Fla., was sentenced today to six years in prison on charges stemming from a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme involving 45 properties and $16 million in mortgage loans used for the purchase of residential real estate in the District of Columbia and Maryland. The sentencing was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr.; Olga Acevedo, Special...

(Source: Pacific Daily News) Federal subpoenas were delivered Friday to the Guam Housing and Renewal Authority’s main office, GHURA management confirmed Monday. Albert Santos, GHURA’s interim executive director while Mike Duenas is off island, said while he can confirm subpoenas were served, he couldn’t disclose who was subpoenaed and what information was sought. The U.S. Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., issued the subpoenas,...

(Source: Miami Herald) The Miami-based Carlisle Development Group, once the state’s biggest developer of affordable housing, had a reputation for building some of South Florida’s finest low-income apartments — including a tower in the historic black neighborhood of Overtown with after-school care and computer labs. What no one knew was that its once-lauded leaders, principals Matthew Greer and Lloyd Boggio, stole tens of millions of dollars in...

NEWARK N.J. – A Nutley, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for his role in a massive mortgage fraud scheme involving multiple properties in Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Kenneth Sweetman, 34, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Judge...

(Source: USDOJ) Baltimore, Maryland –Alberic Okou Agodio, age 30, of Bethesda, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, arising from a mortgage fraud scheme in which he used the names of immigrants and students, along with false financial information, to obtain approximately $3.8 million in home mortgage loans to buy approximately three dozen row houses in Baltimore, all of which are in default or...

CHICAGO—A west suburban real estate broker was sentenced today to 16 months in federal prison for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme involving a pair of Chicago apartment buildings. GEORGE DRAVILAS, 37, of Medinah, pleaded guilty in February to one count of bank fraud. In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Gary Feinerman ordered Dravilas to pay $463,110 in restitution. Judge Feinerman ordered Dravilas to begin serving...

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General ("HUD-OIG"), Northeast Region, announced today the return of a Superseding Indictment charging MICHAEL BARNETT, ROBERT LEES, and KEVIN DICELLO with conspiracy, fraud, and false statement charges in connection with the development of Vineyard...

The state employee who manages fraud investigations for the state welfare department was charged with fraud himself Wednesday for lying about his assets on an application to refinance his home mortgage.. The U.S. Attorney's office said that investigators had arrested Lynwood Patrick Jr., 39, at his home in East Hartford Wednesday morning on a charge of wire fraud. Patrick, charged by a new federal anti-corruption task force, was released on...

As taxpayers, we all fund a program that provides affordable public housing for low-income families. However, 9 Investigates learned tens of millions of dollars every month are going to residents who don’t qualify for the federal assistance. And after U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, learned about some of what Channel 9's Vanessa Welch uncovered, he announced plans for a full investigation. Welch learned that public housing residents are...

Earlier today, Poppi Metaxas, the former President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gateway Bank, FSB (Gateway) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud for her role in defrauding the bank of more than $1.8 million in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The guilty plea was announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal...

Baltimore, Maryland - Sharon Harrison, age 48, of Rosedale, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to embezzling more than $1.3 million from four non-profit organizations for which she worked and which received federal funding. The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Cary A. Rubenstein...

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MALGORZATA KARAS-GOLKA, also known as “Margaret,” 46, of Newington, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for her role in an extensive mortgage fraud conspiracy.  She was also ordered to pay $166,500 in restitution. According to court documents and...

Mary Hayre, age 68, and Pamela Jeridore, age 44, both of North Charleston, were charged in a one-count Indictment with Theft of Government Property, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 641 and 2. The maximum penalty each defendant could receive is 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG) and is...

St. Louis, MO – John York was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States through his business, The Mortgage Store, Inc., in 2008. According to court documents, York was a part owner of The Mortgage Store, Inc. (TMS) and the president of Title America. By 2008, TMS was a major mortgage brokering business with offices in four states and hundreds of employees. The main offices were in Westport...

BOSTON – A former executive of the Chelsea Housing Authority (CHA) and a former public housing inspector were convicted on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, for their roles in rigging the inspection process of federally funded housing units. James Fitzpatrick, 63, of Acton, Mass., and Bernard Morosco, 50, of Utica, NY, were convicted of conspiring to defraud the United States and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by impairing,...

Earlier today, federal agents arrested Stacey Stackhouse, the former executive director of Village of Hempstead Housing Authority (VHHA) and James Alimonos, Michael Lambros, and Demetrios Kaouris, who performed construction work for the agency, for their involvement in a wire fraud conspiracy in connection with the theft of federal funds. The defendants are scheduled to appear this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen...

A former Chelsea Housing Authority manager and a consultant face possible prison sentences after being found guilty on Wednesday of conspiring to defraud the government by rigging biennial federal inspections of apartments to make sure the housing agency received a high performance rating. “This ends another chapter in holding accountable those who engaged in the extensive abuse of the public trust at the housing authority,” said Thomas K....