(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANDREW ROSS, 58, of New Haven, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to paying nearly $350,000 in bribes to the former executive director of the West Haven Housing Authority in exchange for government contracts and business. According to court documents and statements…

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A former program manager for the Parma Public Housing Agency was sentenced Thursday to 16 months in federal prison for stealing $232,000 over six years. Amy Belz, 34, who is free on bond while she awaits a date to report to prison, tearfully apologized to the judge and her family during the sentencing hearing. She cited the effect on her two daughters. "Because of me, their lives were turned upside down," Belz said. In handing…

(Source: kens5.com) SAN ANTONIO – The embattled executive director of the Housing Authority of Bexar County has resigned, months after a federal audit found the agency misused more than $583,000 in funds. Albert “Buddy” Aleman resigned Aug. 19, effective immediately, a county spokeswoman said. Aleman’s resignation comes less than two months after Judge Nelson Wolff publicly called for his dismissal, and while the agency actively looked to find…

(Source: Pacific Daily News) Federal subpoenas were delivered Friday to the Guam Housing and Renewal Authority’s main office, GHURA management confirmed Monday. Albert Santos, GHURA’s interim executive director while Mike Duenas is off island, said while he can confirm subpoenas were served, he couldn’t disclose who was subpoenaed and what information was sought. The U.S. Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., issued the subpoenas,…

Earlier today, federal agents arrested Stacey Stackhouse, the former executive director of Village of Hempstead Housing Authority (VHHA) and James Alimonos, Michael Lambros, and Demetrios Kaouris, who performed construction work for the agency, for their involvement in a wire fraud conspiracy in connection with the theft of federal funds. The defendants are scheduled to appear this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen…

A former Chelsea Housing Authority manager and a consultant face possible prison sentences after being found guilty on Wednesday of conspiring to defraud the government by rigging biennial federal inspections of apartments to make sure the housing agency received a high performance rating. “This ends another chapter in holding accountable those who engaged in the extensive abuse of the public trust at the housing authority,” said Thomas K.…

NEWARK, NJ—An inspector at the Union City Community Development Agency (UCCDA) today admitted conspiring with contractors to rig the selection process for home improvement, sidewalk replacement and other projects, causing losses of at least $400,000, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Johnny Garces, 52, of Union City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to an information charging…

TRENTON, NJ—A Hudson County, New Jersey, man, today admitted to colluding with other contractors to secure projects funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. John Youngclaus, 43, of Bayonne, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with theft of $224,250 in government funds. According to…

TRENTON -- The owner of a Bayonne plumbing and heating company admitted in federal court today to colluding with other contractors to secure projects funded by federal grants, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. John Youngclaus, 43, of Bayonne, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton to an the theft of $224,250 in government funds. Youngclaus faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 when he…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An audit report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General said the state of Rhode Island "did not properly administer" federal money given through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and "as a result, HUD had no assurance that more than $6.3 million ... was effectively and efficiently used." The inspector general recommended that HUD require the state to "repay…

The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority paid $211,216 for outside legal services that should have been performed by the authority’s in-house lawyer, according to a federal audit that was undertaken a year ago in response to an anonymous hotline complaint. The audit renewed tenant claims that the authority wastes money on outside law firms, money that could be better spent providing services to residents. However, in response to that same…

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DAVID J. BERTNAGEL, 41, of Thomaston, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today in Bridgeport federal court to theft and tax charges stemming from his embezzlement of more than $800,000 from the Town of Plymouth. According to court documents and statements made in court, from October 2011 through October 2014, BERTNAGEL was employed as the…

A former city of Dallas employee who admitted to hindering a federal investigation and trading housing for sex, among other things, will spend 15 months behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office this morning. Lawrence Hart has also been ordered to pay back $8,619. From 2012 until last year, Hart worked for the city’s Housing Department as a caseworker for Project Reconnect, which uses federal dollars to help the formerly incarcerated…

LAFAYETTE — A former employee of the Opelousas Housing Authority was sentenced to two years of probation Friday in a federal investigation of bid-rigging that also snagged the former director and a local contractor. Garnette L. Thomas, 76, the Housing Authority’s former grant and capital funds coordinator, pleaded guilty last year to fraud charges. Thomas faced 10 to 16 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, but U.S. District…

The White Mountain Apache Housing Authority misspent millions of federal dollars on entertainment, gift certificates and other improper items, and is so badly managed it should be considered for receivership, according to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development audit released this week. A HUD Office of Inspector General report issued Tuesday also says the agency's Southwest Office of Native American Programs should order the tribal…

U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Mexico Press Release ALBUQUERQUE—Two men from Gallup, N.M., pleaded guilty today to federal charges arising out of a scheme to defraud the United States and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of more than $100,000. The guilty pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Phyllis Robinson, Special Agent in Charge of Region 6, HUD Office of Inspector General, and Carol K.O…

  Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations Topic: “Evaluating Public Housing in the U.S.: Reigning in Waste, Fraud, Abuse and Mismanagement at Public Housing Authorities."  

USAO Southern District of Ohio Press Release COLUMBUS – Wendy Harper, 44, Columbus, Ohio pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to embezzling HUD program funds from her employer, Harvest Management Group, Inc, which manages more than 900 units for elderly and disabled people who qualify for HUD assistance. She also pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return. Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Barry…

NEWARK — The former executive director of an East Orange-based non-profit developer of low-income housing was arrested today on charges she had embezzled more than $380,000 from the corporation, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement this evening. Lancie Marchan, 64, who headed the East Orange Revitalization and Development Corporation, used the money for trips, hotel stays, visits to casinos and gifts, among other things, the…

GRAND RAPIDS — A St. Johns businessman has pleaded guilty to charges that he submitted false claims to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, federal prosecutors announced today. James Ortman, 58, admitted earlier this month to defrauding HUD out of a $200,000 grant in 2008 for a facade project for a building in downtown St. Johns. He also admitted to defrauding the government on another grant for an apartment complex in St.…