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Report Fraud, Waste and Abuse
Date Published
July 25, 2018
News Type
Press Release
Link to Original
USAO, Eastern District of New York

Earlier today, Nagwa Elsilimy pleaded guilty at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn to disaster relief fraud in connection with obtaining more than $750,000 in disaster relief from New York City’s Build It Back program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Today’s proceeding took place before United States District Judge Raymond J. Dearie.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG); Mark Tasky, Special Agent-in-Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Washington Field Office (DHS OIG); and Mark G. Peters, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation, announced the guilty plea.

According to court filings and facts presented during the guilty plea proceeding, in the days and months following Hurricane Sandy, which struck New York and New Jersey on October 29, 2012, Elsilimy obtained and attempted to obtain federal funds appropriated for Sandy disaster relief by submitting material misrepresentations in her applications for relief.  Specifically, Elsilimy misrepresented...