A Joliet Housing Authority official accused of defrauding the Chicago Housing Authority of nearly $200,000 with her husband’s help was drowning in debt and had filed for bankruptcy around the same time she was hired by the south suburban agency, court records show. In 2010 — just a few years after Cook County prosecutors said Charlene Potts and her now estranged spouse Scott Washington embezzled the CHA — Potts, claimed she owed more than $280,...

MOBILE, Alabama – A man who worked as a loan officer at a local mortgage company pleaded guilty today to providing phony documents to a lender to get a house loan approved for a client. Anthony Melvin Wilkes became the second Midtown Mortgage Co. employee to plead guilty to making a false statement on a loan application, and the third to be charged. Federal prosecutors bypassed a grand jury and negotiated the plea deal with defense attorney...

MOBILE, Alabama – Two more former mortgage broker employees accused of defrauding lenders pleaded not guilty to federal charges Wednesday, bringing the total number of defendants in the probe to a half-dozen. Prosecutors allege that employees who worked at Midtown Mortgage submitted fraudulent documents to the lenders in order to obtain mortgages for customers who otherwise would not qualify. Two of the defendants, Anthony Melvin Wilkes and...

MINNEAPOLIS—A federal indictment unsealed late yesterday charges a 38-year-old Maple Plain man with conspiring to defraud mortgage loan lenders. The indictment, which was filed on July 16, 2013, specifically charges Alpha Rashidi Mshihiri with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. The indictment was unsealed...

A Bayonne man pleaded guilty today to his role in a bid-rigging scheme that fraudulently obtained tens of thousands of dollars in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds through the City of Bayonne Department of Community Development, officials said. Leo Viguie, 38, of L.V. Renovations in Bayonne, pleaded guilty to one count of the theft of $40,000 in government funds before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton, U.S....

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GABRIEL SERRANO, 47, of West Hartford, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford to conspiracy charges stemming from his role in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme.  SERRANO, an attorney, is a partner in the law firm of Serrano & Serrano, LLC. According to court...

Nikkijam30When the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh was questioned by the city controller, a television station and federal auditors in the past year, it turned to Michael Syme. Mr. Syme, an attorney with Downtown-based Cohen & Grigsby, is one of a handful of top consultants to the authority, who weigh in on key decisions involving redevelopment, security and the agency's internal structure.

TRENTON — Shackled at his feet and in the custody of federal marshals, city developer Robert Kahan pleaded not guilty today to 25 counts of bank fraud, mail fraud and fraud against a local government receiving federal benefits. Kahan, 67, was indicted a week and a half ago for allegedly skimming local, state and federal funds intended for three housing projects in Trenton. He allegedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal items...

Jurors will hear final arguments today and begin deliberating whether a Manchester man is guilty of orchestrating an elaborate $13 million mortgage fraud scheme or was just the owner of a failed business, as his lawyers contend. Testimony in the trial of Michael Prieto wrapped up yesterday after seven days. Prieto did not testify. Defense lawyer Michael Iacopino called only one witness – Ted Perkins – who said he is friends with Prieto and...

TAMPA — A rent collector for the Pinellas County Housing Authority stole $23,126 on duty, the federal government charged Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Keomala Phandara Khammanivong, 32, worked at the French Villas public housing complex from 2008 to 2012, a court record states. French Villas is a 185-unit complex along 54th Avenue N in the Lealman area of Pinellas County. Known to coworkers as "La," she interviewed tenants, fielded complaints...

CONCORD – A number of local residents will be part of the fraud trial of a former Nashua resident. Federal prosecutors filed a list of 49 people they intend to call during Michael Prieto’s mail fraud and money laundering trial, set to begin Tuesday at U.S. District Court in Concord. Prieto is facing 11 charges and is accused of leading a mortgage fraud scheme that bilked dozens of homeowners and lenders from 2005 to 2007.

Lubertha Johnson Estates, one of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority’s properties for low-income seniors, has problems. Over a year old, there are roof leaks and construction defect issues. The Resident Council president, James Treasure, sent me a list of 22 concerns. On Thursday, the neatly typed eight-page response from Terril Bates, director of Public Housing Operations at the authority, was presented to the nine-member authority...

CANTON — Federal housing officials are requesting Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority either repay or document about $10.5 million in public housing funds which an investigation states was either improperly documented or spent. An audit report, recently released from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, points out how SMHA was using public housing funds to support nonhousing projects.  

TRENTON, N.J. – A federal grand jury in New Jersey has indicted the developer of three Trenton affordable housing projects for allegedly diverted money intended for the developments, announced New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. A federal grand jury returned a 25-count indictment today charging Robert Kahan, 67, of Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., with 10 counts of making false statement in a loan application, three counts of bank fraud...

TRENTON -- Over the course of building affordable housing in Trenton, developer Robert Kahan misstated his net worth in order to obtain huge loans, then skimmed money from the accounts to buy a condominium in Florida and make repairs on his son’s home, a federal indictment alleged today. The 25 count-indictment includes bank fraud, mail fraud, fraud against a local government receiving federal proceeds, and making false statements on a loan...

FORT WAYNE – A Fort Wayne loan officer pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme. John Carlisle, who was 49 at the time of the February indictment, was scheduled to stand trial next week in federal court in South Bend on a 13-count indictment accusing him of bank fraud, wire fraud and making false statements regarding mortgage loans.

BOSTON –  The former Executive Director of the Chelsea Housing Authority was sentenced today for falsely reporting his salary in annual budgets required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. Michael E. McLaughlin, 67, of Dracut, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 36 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised...

BOSTON (CBS/AP) — The former executive director of the Chelsea Housing Authority who pleaded guilty to charges of trying to hide his inflated salary from state and federal authorities has been sentenced to three years in prison. Michael McLaughlin was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Boston. U.S. District Attorney Carmen Ortiz said afterward, she was pleased the Chelsea Housing Authority had an opportunity to be heard. McLaughlin pleaded...

A Roseville man wanted on charges of real estate fraud was extradited to California last week from Georgia. On July 3, 48-year-old Eimbari Kemet was extradited from Lawrenceville, Georgia back to California by San Bernardino County District Attorney investigators. Kemet was arrested in Georgia for an outstanding warrant following a traffic stop for a broken tail light.

Chuck Appleby wanted answers back in March as he grappled with how to get his family back into their Seaside Park home that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy. He and many other Sandy victims with questions attended a town hall meeting in Manasquan on March 21 to hear what Gov. Chris Christie had to say. Appleby, a Seaside Park Planning Board member, was satisfied with one answer he heard: If you build now, you will be reimbursed, Christie said....