We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Gary's (Authority) Section 8 housing program. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2005 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based upon a risk analysis the identified it as having a high risk Section 8 housing program. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority managed its Section 8 program in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

What We Audited and Why We completed an audit of the Corporación para el Fomento Económico de la Ciudad Capital (Corporation) independent capital fund. The review was initiated in response to a request from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) San Juan Office of Community Planning and Development, which was not satisfied with the Corporation's overall performance in administering its independent capital fund. HUD's concerns…

NEWARK, N.J. – A former Newark city official and officer of the Newark Community Economic Development Corp. (NCEDC), along with two Newark business owners, were indicted today by a federal grand jury in connection with a conspiracy for the official to obtain corrupt payments intended to influence and reward him for assisting the business owners with the acquisition and redevelopment of various Newark-owned properties, Acting U.S. Attorney…

BOSTON – A former employee of the City of Worcester’s Housing Development Office and Executive Office of Economic Development was convicted by a federal jury yesterday in connection with a $2.3 million fraud scheme relating to the redevelopment of a multi-family property in Worcester. Jacklyn M. Sutcivni, 47, of Dracut, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and false claims. U.S.…

NEWARK, N.J. – A former City of Newark official and officer of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC) and two business owners were charged today for their roles in a bribery scheme, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Carmelo G. Garcia, 45, of Hoboken, New Jersey; Frank Valvano Jr., 52, of Florham Park, New Jersey; and Irwin Sablosky, 60, of Springfield, New Jersey, are each charged by complaint with one count of…

NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Newark Municipal Council and Board of Directors of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC) was charged today with scheming to obtain bribes and kickbacks, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Joseph A. McCallum Jr., 65, of Newark, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud for allegedly devising a scheme, using interstate wire communications, to defraud Newark and the NCEDC of…

NEWARK, N.J. – The Department of Justice announced today that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that the owner of rental properties in Elizabeth, New Jersey, violated the Fair Housing Act by subjecting tenants to sexual harassment, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. The complaint alleges that Joseph Centanni, who owns hundreds of rental units in and around Elizabeth, has subjected tenants and applicants to sexual harassment on multiple…

NEWARK, N.J. – The former acting business administrator for the Township of Orange, New Jersey, has been charged in a 28-count indictment with conspiracy, bribe-taking, money and property fraud, federal tax fraud, and making false statements in connection with a mortgage, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today. Willis Edwards III, 49, formerly of East Orange, New Jersey, and currently of Lithonia, Georgia, was charged with 14 counts of…

NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man was arrested today by federal agents on charges of mortgage fraud and scheming to defraud the Orange Public Library, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Shenandoah Adams Sr., a/k/a “Shane Adams Sr.,” 54, of New Providence, New Jersey, is charged by indictment with six counts of wire fraud and two counts of making false statements in connection with a mortgage loan. He is scheduled to appear…

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Adam C. McFadden pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to wire fraud. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. On April 1, 2019, McFadden previously pleaded guilty to unrelated wire and tax fraud charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was the…

McALLEN, Texas – A La Joya Housing Authority Board member has been arrested on charges of federal program bribery regarding a city public relations contract, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Sylvia Garces Valdez was taken into custody yesterday after which she made her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby. She is set for trial Oct. 8, 2019. According to the indictment, from June to approximately November 2018,…

John H. Durham. United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that STEVEN F. HARVIN, 54, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to three years of probation, the first 60 days of which Harvin must serve in home confinement, for stealing from a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) program.  Judge Shea also ordered Harvin to perform 50 hours of community…

The Administration of Disaster Recovery Funds in the Wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, House Financial Services Committee, subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Jeremy Kirkland, Counsel to the Inspector General was a witness.  Click here to watch.

Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney John H. Durham today announced that the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have filed a lawsuit in the District of Connecticut alleging that female tenants and applicants of residential rental properties in and around New London, Connecticut, were subjected to sexual harassment, coercion, intimidation and threats,…

(Source: www.kstp.com) A Minneapolis woman faces charges after authorities say she stole funds from a nonprofit she worked at while she was on probation for defrauding another nonprofit, according to a release from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.  The release said Cynthia Waight faces one count of identity theft and one count of theft by swindle.  The county attorney's office said Waight was investigated by a special agent…

A contractor from North Royalton was indicted for paying cash bribes to a City of Cleveland building official. Martin Fano, 69, was indicted on seven counts of honest services mail and wire fraud. According to the indictment: Fano owned and operated ABC Construction LLC, a business that provided demolition and construction services in the Cleveland area. The company did demolition work for the City of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Land Bank…

(Source: Cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio — A North Royalton contractor is charged with paying bribes to a former Cleveland official, as part of an expanding federal probe into corruption within the city’s demolition operations. A federal grand jury indicted ABC Construction owner Martin Fano Wednesday on seven counts of honest services mail and wire fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement that the 69 year old paid cash bribes to…

(Source: NEWS5CLEVELAND.COM) NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — A North Royalton contractor was indicted for allegedly paying cash bribes to a Cleveland building official, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. Martin Fano, 69, was indicted on seven counts of honest services mail and wire fraud, according to the release. Fano, who owned and operated ABC Construction LLC, did demolition work for the City of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga…

(Source: crainscleveland)  A North Royalton contractor was indicted Wednesday, Feb. 6, by a federal grand jury for paying cash bribes to a Cleveland building official. Martin Fano, who owned and operated ABC Construction LLC, was indicted on seven counts of honest services mail and wire fraud. According to the indictment, ABC Construction, which did demolition work for the city of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga Land Bank and others, paid bribes…

(Source: cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A former Cuyahoga Land Bank employee was indicted in federal court on charges that accuse him of helping a demolition company get contracts in exchange for performing improvements to his Cleveland Heights home. Kenneth Tyson, 48, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services fraud, three counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of bribery, the U.S. Attorney’s…