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Report Fraud, Waste and Abuse
Date Published
February 10, 2022
News Type
Press Release
Link to Original
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, OIG
HUD OIG Press Release.pdf

Charley Rember, Jr.,52, former Executive Director of Madill Housing Authority in Madill, Oklahoma, was sentenced on January 26, 2022, to 8 years in prison (2 years suspended) and ordered to pay more than $477,000 in restitution and fines for embezzlement of over $450,000 of government money to support his gambling habit.

The sentencing was announced by Judge Wallace Coppedge, District Court of Marshall County, Oklahoma. The case was investigated by the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Office of Investigation with assistance from the HUD OIG Oklahoma City Office of Audit and the Madill Police Department, Madill Oklahoma.

The Madill Housing Authority is a small Public Housing Authority (PHA) that own and operate 44 federally assisted public housing units in Madill, Oklahoma. In January 2020, the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) noted financial weakening of the Housing Authority and contacted the Housing Authority Board. Upon review, the Housing Authority Board identified what appeared to be evidence of misappropriation of funds by Mr. Rember who was immediately terminated after admitting that he had diverted Housing Authority funds to support his gambling habit.

From February 2020 through June 2021, HUD OIG investigators interviewed law enforcement personnel, Housing Authority management and employees, banking officials, and vendors concerning allegations against Mr. Rember. In addition, forensic reviews conducted by HUD OIG Office of Audit involved thousands of pages of vendor purchasing records, credit card transactions, computer payment applications, gaming records, fictitious entity, and invoice billings, among other evidence, for the period March 2015 through January 2020.

Reviews of these records identified that Mr. Rember used his position to divert government funds, allocated to the Housing Authority, and unallowable expenditures exceeding $450,000 to support his gambling habit. When interviewed by HUD OIG investigators, Mr. Rember confessed to the crime and provided a written statement. Mr. Rember was arrested in July 2021 and charged with multiple counts of embezzlement.

“This investigation represents the collaborative effort with our Office of Audit colleagues and our commitment to aggressively pursue and hold accountable those who commit fraudulent schemes involving HUD programs,” stated Special Agent-in-Charge Nelson Bertrand. “HUD OIG Office of Investigation will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners and the State of Oklahoma to protect the integrity of HUD programs and the communities they assist.”