New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Jefferson County District Attorney Kristyna S. Mills, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General (HUD OIG), and the New York State Police today announced the pleas of former West Carthage Housing Authority (WCHA) Executive Director Jan Hoffman for stealing over $48,000 in WCHA funds, and Katherine (Katie) Pais, Hoffman’s mother and former WCHA consultant,…

MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a South Hempstead woman was arrested and charged yesterday with allegedly falsely applying for and receiving more than $22,000 of rental assistance benefits from the Nassau County Housing Choice Voucher Program to which she was not entitled.Melissa Beltre, 42, was arraigned Thursday before Judge Marie McCormack on charges of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a D…

Executive Director Used Housing Authority Funds for Personal Expenses Throughout Entire Tenure.New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Jefferson County District Attorney Kristyna S. Mills, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General (HUD OIG), and the New York State Police today announced the arrests of former Executive Director of the West Carthage Housing Authority (WCHA) Jan Hoffman for allegedly stealing…

Cornell Bozier Steered Over $800,000 in Construction Contracts to Co-Conspirator Controlled Companies in Exchange for Kickback PaymentsEarlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Cornell Bozier, the former Chairman of the Board of Commissioners (Board) at the Village of Hempstead Housing Authority (VHHA) was sentenced by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and…

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago businessman has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for willfully evading more than $3.7 million in federal and state income taxes.ABRAHAM KISWANI 54, of Burbank, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to a federal tax evasion charge.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah on Thursday fined Kiswani $10,000.Kiswani served as the president of World Security Bureau, a Chicago-area…

Read Work Start Notification WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced an audit to assess the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) processes for identifying and preventing fraud.  NYCHA provides housing assistance to over 500,000 New York residents and it is the largest public housing authority in the United States. HUD provides NYCHA with…

In the Largest Number of Federal Bribery Charges on a Single Day in DOJ History, 70 Current and Former Employees of the NYCHA Have Been Charged with Allegedly Accepting Cash Payments from Contractors in Exchange for Awarding NYCHA ContractsDamian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Jocelyn E. Strauber, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”); Ivan J. Arvelo, the Special…

CHICAGO — A former board member of the failed Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for conspiring to falsify bank records to deceive the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and for filing false tax returns.WILLIAM M. MAHON, 57, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and tax charges.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall ordered…

CHICAGO — A former employee of the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for using “straw buyers” to fraudulently purchase and resell properties from the agency on his behalf.MUSTAFAA SALEH, 37, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a wire fraud charge.  U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood imposed the year-and-a-day prison sentence during a hearing Friday in federal court in Chicago…

CHICAGO — A man has been convicted in federal court of obtaining money by threat from a strip club in a Chicago suburb.ROMMELL KELLOGG, 71, of Harvey, Ill., was convicted Monday on all five counts against him, including conspiracy to commit theft and intimidation and causing the use of facilities in interstate commerce to promote theft and intimidation.  The jury returned its verdicts after a week-long trial in U.S. District Court in…

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Angel Elliot Dalfin, 58, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of making a false document, was sentenced to serve five years’ probation, to include eight months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. Dalfin was also ordered to perform 600 hours of community service at Habitat for Humanity within the first three years of probation.…