Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ROBERT LEES, a former senior executive of Universal Forest Products, Inc. (“UFP”), was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas to 50 months in prison for conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering, and making false statements in a loan application.  LEES was found guilty by a jury on May 20, 2016, after a seven-day trial…

(Source: framinghamsource.com) BOSTON – A Milford woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with embezzling over $70,000 in rent payments owed to the Framingham Housing Authority. Rosa A. Famania, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling money from an agency receiving federal funds. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for March 14, 2017. In February 2010, Famania began working…

BOSTON – Edward J. Tutunjian, who has owned and operated Boston Cab through his company, EJT Management, Inc., for more than four decades, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston for payroll tax evasion, employing illegal aliens and for failing to pay overtime wages. Tutunjian, 67, of Belmont, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 20 months of probation, 18 months of which must be spent at Coolidge House…

BOSTON – A Milford woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with embezzling over $70,000 in rent payments owed to the Framingham Housing Authority (FHA).     Rosa A. Famania, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling money from an agency receiving federal funds.  U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for March 14, 2017. In February 2010, Famania began…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Shannon C. Boston, 44, of Sunbury, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District court today to one count of failing to account for and pay over employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, James Vanderberg, Special Agent in…

(Source: omaha.com) A Section 8 landlord’s alleged bribery of Omaha Housing Authority employees was reported immediately, and no Housing Authority employees are accused of any wrongdoing, the prosecutor in the case said Friday. Jan Sharp, chief criminal prosecutor of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nebraska, said the Housing Authority cooperated fully with the investigation into the alleged bribery by longtime Omaha landlord Lafi Jafari and his…

(Source: rockislandtoday.com) The Rock Island Housing Authority has been asked to reimburse more than $600,000 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according a report from The Edgar County Watchdogs in Illinois Leaks. The housing authority did not comply with the HUD regulations regarding its Housing Choice Voucher and Family Self-Sufficiency programs. The U.S. Office of Inspector General (USOIG) released its…

(Source: valleycentral.com) The La Joya Housing Authority board suspended Executive Director J.J. Garza on Saturday afternoon -- and plans to terminate him. Faced with a federal investigation, the board voted to suspend Executive Director Juan Jose "J.J." Garza, 48, of La Joya without pay. San Antonio-based attorney Mark Anthony Sanchez Sr. advised the board to quickly schedule a follow-up meeting to terminate Garza. "You're beset with a series…

(Source: northjersey.com) PATERSON – In their most recent subpoenas, federal investigators have requested city records covering Paterson’s use of millions of dollars of federal funding dating back to 2010, according to local officials. The subpoenas for records extending back over six years suggest the federal probe could be examining the actions taken not only by the current administration of Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres but also those under his…

A four-count superseding indictment was unsealed today in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Cornell Bozier with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and three substantive counts of federal program bribery.  From April 2011 to April 2013, Bozier served as the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners (the Board) at the Village of Hempstead Housing Authority (the VHHA). …

(Source: guampdn.com) A 51-year-old former public housing landlord signed a plea deal and is ready to admit guilt in a bribery scheme in which an ex-Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority employee accepted money from recipients of the federal Housing Choice Voucher, or Section 8, program. The ex-landlord, Albert Buendicho, was indicted in March, along with former GHURA housing specialist Antonia Mayo-San Nicolas, 55, and Section 8…

(USAO, NY) Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MICHAEL BARNETT, a real estate developer, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas to 37 months in prison for conspiring to defraud lenders and make false statements to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) in connection with his development of Vineyard Commons, a luxury residential complex…

(Source: nj.com)  NEWARK — A federal judge Monday sentenced a former contractor for the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. to six months in prison for his role in a kickback scheme, much less time behind bars than sentencing guidelines recommended he should serve. Giacomo "Jack" DeRosa, 68, previously had pleaded guilty in January in the U.S. District Court in Newark to a charge of laundering $85,000 in kickbacks to the…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Kansas City, Mo., woman was convicted by a federal jury today of engaging in a fraud scheme in which she stole $440,000 in lottery winnings from her victim as part of a scheme that resulted in a total loss of more than $640,000. Freya Pearson, 43, of Georgia, formerly of Kansas City, was found guilty of all nine counts…

(Source: USAO, NJ) NEWARK, N.J. – An inspector at the Union City Community Development Agency (UCCDA) was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for conspiring with contractors to rig the selection process for home improvement, sidewalk replacement and other projects, causing losses of at least $307,000, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Johnny Garces, 53, of Union City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge…

(Source: arkansasonline.com) Lionell S. Moss, the executive director of the Helena Housing Authority, was arrested Friday on federal charges accusing him of illegally receiving $57,907 by submitting false reimbursement requests and using an agency credit card for personal expenses. Moss, 58, appeared briefly late Friday afternoon in the Little Rock courtroom of U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe and pleaded innocent to three charges -- two…

(Source: theadvocate.com) Louisiana stands to get $437.8 million in federal disaster aid in the coming months, as leaders work to develop a long-term plan for recovery from catastrophic flooding that has left thousands of homes damaged or destroyed across the state. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday announced that Louisiana is in line for nearly 88 percent of the $500 million that Congress approved in a last-…

(Source: nj.com) TRENTON — An Ocean County couple who own two home improvement companies has been charged with stealing more than $1million from Hurricane Sandy victims and using the money to gamble and buy luxury items instead of repairing the homes they were hired to rebuild, authorities said Wednesday. Jeffrey Colmyer, 41, and Tiffany Cimino, 43, who live together in Little Egg Harbor, were arrested and charged Tuesday with theft by failure…

(Source: nj.com) WASHINGTON — Gov. Chris Christie's administration did not properly account for $43.1 million in Hurricane Sandy housing funds, according to a U.S. government watchdog. The inspector general for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said the state did not ensure that the disbursements met a national objective, that the prices were fair and reasonable, the costs were necessary and there was proper documentation for…

(Source: njspotlight.com) Four years after Hurricane Sandy, a federal audit of money allotted to repair and rebuild in the hurricane’s aftermath has found that New Jersey “… did not have adequate controls in place to administer its contract and monitor contract performance and was not fully aware of federal procurement and cost principle requirements.” Hammerman and Gainer Inc., a Louisiana company that New Jersey paid $43 million to handle…