TRENTON, N.J. B A Hudson County, N.J. man today admitted his role in paying bribes to a Bayonne public official for the public official’s assistance in securing projects funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Joseph Arrigo, 45, of Bayonne, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of...

It seems as if there is always some bank, corporation or millionaire out there trying to take advantage of those less fortunate. In fact, this was a huge factor in the housing bubble that contributed to the economic recession that began in 2008. Unfortunately, certain predatory lending practices, such as mortgage fraud, have continuously been on the rise over the past few years. Many Arizonians wonder whether they’re also affected by this rise...

Former NFL player Irving Fryar and his mother were indicted by a New Jersey grand jury Wednesday on charges they conspired to steal more than $690,000 through a mortgage scam. In announcing the indictment, prosecutors said Fryar and his mother, Allene McGhee, engaged in a "sophisticated mortgage fraud scam" by allegedly having McGhee submit false information to obtain five loans on her home within a six-day period. The two were indicted on...

For Immediate Release September 30, 2013 Contact: HUD OIG Communications [email protected] Washington, DC – Today, Inspector General David A. Montoya announced the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a report entitled, “Moving to Work Demonstration Program.”  This audit was undertaken to focus HUD management’s attention on problem areas reported on over the years...

CHICAGO―Ten defendants, including five licensed loan originators, were indicted for allegedly participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately 52 residential mortgage loans totaling at least $14.5 million from various lenders. The indictment alleges that the mortgages were obtained to finance the purchase of various properties, primarily on the west and south sides of Chicago, by straw buyers who were fraudulently qualified for...

Eleven residents of Chicago and its suburbs have been indicted in a $14.5 million mortgage fraud scheme that involved homes on the city’s south and west sides. The Justice Department said the alleged wrongdoing involved 10 properties, 52 home loans and straw buyers who were fraudulently qualified for the mortgages between August 2004 and October 2012. As a result of the alleged fraud, authorities said lenders lost $8 million. Among the...

Updated: Friday, September 13 2013, 07:36 PM EDT COLUMBUS (Tom Sussi) -- We're updating a scandal at the Columbus Urban League ABC 6 Investigators first broke two years ago.   Former Urban League executive Ovell Harrison agreed to a plea deal today in federal court. Harrison pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, and one count of aggravated theft. The 55-year-old is free on bond, and will be sentenced within the next two months....

COLUMBUS, OHIO– Ovell Harrison, 55, of Columbus, Ohio pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with his position as Director of Education Services at the Columbus Urban League between 2004 and 2010. Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector...

ST. LOUIS • An old Coca-Cola plant redone as lofts held promise as a profitable way to buoy a south St. Louis neighborhood. Instead, the struggling site has embroiled the developers in a dispute over why the project defaulted on a federally insured loan. Prominent in the controversy are a critical audit by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a longtime St. Louis developer, a buried oil tank and a disgraced former HUD official. In...

LOWELL -- The City Council has called a special meeting to discuss the recently released federal audit of the Lowell Housing Authority, the findings of which could result in the LHA having to repay the federal government more than $11 million. The meeting will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. The audit, completed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Inspector General's Office, found the LHA did not perform cost estimates and...

Sept. 13, 2013 -- Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that five individuals were charged today in a scheme to steal Yonkers Municipal Housing Authority rent payments. Shamesha Holloway (DOB 01/16/88) of 615 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers, New York, Shakeia Davis (DOB 11/16/84) of 26 Rollins Avenue, Yonkers, New York, Dominique Hodges (DOB 12/23/88) of 114 Buena Vista Avenue, Yonkers, New York, Khrystina Harris (DOB 06/21/...

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations “Reducing Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Housing Programs: Inspector General Perspectives”  

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada-based homebuilder was sentenced Tuesday to 51 months in federal prison for siphoning money allocated for Navajo Nation housing projects in Arizona and New Mexico for personal gambling, jewelry and thoroughbred racehorse training expenses. William Aubrey, 71, of Mesquite, protested during his sentencing in Las Vegas that over the years he built thousands of affordable houses for tribe members. "I apologize for what I...

A Newport Coast man was resentenced today to five years behind bars and ordered to pay about $535,000 in restitution for a scheme to fraudulently obtain mortgage loans that went into default, causing more than $2.7 million in losses to the federal government and commercial lenders. Lorenzo Espinoza, 46, pleaded guilty in 2006 in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban...

CANTON -The classically styled, sleek, energy-efficient complex known as the Metropolitan Centre was supposed to be a crown jewel for the Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority. Instead, it turned out to be a four-story chunk of cubic zirconia the agency wants to sell — as soon as possible. The 54,000-square-foot Centre at 601 Cleveland Ave. NW opened in 2007. Today, it’s home to a nightclub, a Knights of Columbus, a physician’s office, a U.S....

The Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority obliterated most cardinal rules of real estate when it completed a new home this year in the city’s near northwest area. The agency spent $297,000 to build a single-floor house, without a basement — on a postage-stamp-sized lot; within an eroding neighborhood; inside an under-performing school district; and surrounded by existing houses valued in the $50,000 range. “I don’t think it’s a justifiable...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A former Charlotte area realtor pleaded guilty on Monday, August 26, 2013, to selling household appliances she unlawfully removed from vacant homes owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Sember Lynn Smathers, 49, formerly of Shelby, N.C., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer to one count of...

HUNTINGTON -- A former Huntington Housing Authority employee was indicted earlier this week on charges alleging she embezzled more than $20,000 from the agency in one year. Patricia Howard, 54, was charged with embezzlement from an organization receiving federal benefits during a federal grand jury hearing on Aug. 27, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said in a press release Friday. Howard is a former administrator for HHA's Shelter Plus Care Program...

BOSTON – The former executive director of the Chelsea Housing Authority (CHA) has been indicted for unlawfully soliciting contributions from state employees and other individuals to support multiple campaigns, including that of former Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today. “We allege that McLaughlin used the CHA as a base for political fundraising, including in support of the former Lieutenant...