An official who handled rent money from residents of Philadelphia Housing Authority homes allegedly used her position to steal about $8,000 over two years, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Sondra Wong Nelson, 36, of Philadelphia, allegedly stole the rent money between June 2010 and January 2012 in her capacity as a supervisory asset manager for PHA.

The alleged scam was pretty simple, the U.S. Attorney said. When a tenant would bring in their rent money in the form of a money order, Nelson allegedly wrote her name in the field where PHA should have been. She then deposited the money orders into her personal bank account, according to prosecutors.