(Source: hotspringsdaily.com) Dear Editor, Friday’s Sentinel Record had an article describing the felony sentencing of the past Hot Springs Housing director Barbara Baer. Baer was sentenced to two years’ probation for embezzlement and fined puny a $500. What is missing from this article is a description of the complicity and irresponsibility of the majority of the Housing Authority board in allowing this mess to occur. In addition, to…

(Source: USAO, WA) A SeaTac man who used a second identity to defraud public assistance programs for more than 20 years was convicted late yesterday of multiple federal felonies following a three day jury trial, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  TRAVIS EDWARD FISCHER, 49, lived with his girlfriend and three children in SeaTac, while also claiming benefits under the name Edward Travis Fisher in Seattle.  By pretending to be…

(Source: heraldbulletin.com) ANDERSON – The son of an Anderson businessman was arrested Tuesday on suspicion he attempted to transfer Section 8 properties without the permission of his father, who has owned some of them for as long as 30 years. Madison County sheriff's deputies arrested Ben Thomas Jewell Jr., 54, 200 block of South Madison Avenue, Anderson, on preliminary charges of Class C felony forgery and Class D felony theft. He faces…

(Source: USAO, LA) LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that the former director of the Morgan City Housing Authority and two former employees were arraigned today on charges related to theft of half a million dollars. Charles E. Spann, 78, of Kingsport, Tenn.; and Diana L. Pace, 64, and Sandra L. Green, 59, both of Morgan City, La.; pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carol B. Whitehurst. The…

(source: wnep.com) HAZLETON -- State police, the IRS, and other federal agents raided the home of a controversial real estate agent Monday morning. Agents carried boxes out of the home of Ignacio Beato on Lincoln Street in Hazleton. They were there for about three hours. The case against Ignacio Beato is growing. What appeared to be a real estate scam in Hazleton may be much more. That's why federal agencies are now involved, with the Luzerne…

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

  Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Topic: "HUD Office of Inspector General Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request and HUD’s Top Management and Performance Challenges". You may view the hearing through the Senate Committee’s page at United States Senate Committee on Appropriations.

(Source: USAO, MA) BOSTON – Lucy Girard, 78, of Townsend, Mass., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to stealing over $200,000 in Social Security and federal housing benefits. In February 2016, Girard was charged in a felony information.  U.S. District Court Senior Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for June 1, 2016. In 1994, Girard was listed as the informant of death on her mother’s death certificate when she…

(Source: Brooklyn District Attorney's Office) Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, together with New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters, today announced in a 40-count indictment that a contractor, his subcontractor and a foreman have been variously charged with stealing over $1 million in wages by underpaying 27 employees who worked on a construction project in Brooklyn that was financed by the New York City…

(Source: USAO, LA) U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that FREDDIE ROSS, JR., age 37, of New Orleans, who performs under the stage name BIG FREEDIA, was charged in a one-count Bill of Information with theft of government funds. According to the Bill of Information, between about 2010 and continuing until December 2014, ROSS stole money to which he was not entitled from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. …

(Source: nola.com) Big Freedia, the internationally famous New Orleans bounce music artist, has been charged with a felony count of theft of federal funds. Freedia, identified in court documents by her legal name of Freddie Ross, Jr., is accused of stealing more than $1,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development between 2010 and 2014. She faces a maximum prison term of 10 years and fine of $250,000. Freedia's attorney, Tim Kappel…

(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANDREW ROSS, 58, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for paying nearly $350,000 in bribes to the former executive director of the West Haven Housing Authority in exchange for government contracts and…

(Source: USAO, MD) Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Alberic Okou Agodio, age 31, of Bethesda, Maryland, today to 61 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, arising from a mortgage fraud scheme in which he used the names of immigrants and students, along with false financial information, to obtain $3.8 million in home mortgage…

(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned an indictment charging TIMOTHY W. BURKE, also known as “Bill Burke,” “William Burke,” “Kerry Saunders,” “Pat Riley,” “Jim Caldwell,” “Jim Saunders,” “Tom Morrisey,” “Jimmy,” “Phil Burke,” “Phil,” “Burt,” “James Burke,” and “M. Soler,” 64, of Easton, with fraud, tax, money laundering and…

(Source: presstelegram.com) A Lakewood woman has been found guilty of real estate fraud, causing $662,000 in losses to lenders. Felicia Muhammad, 45, was convicted on five felony counts for lying to banks that funded mortgages for three properties that later went into default, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. At the time of the fraud, she was a licensed real estate broker living in Long Beach. Muhammad was convicted Friday…

(Source: USAO, CT)Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SERJ GEUTSSOYAN, also known as “Anthony Kirk,” 33, of Santa Ana, Calif., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to conspiring to defraud homeowners across the United States who were seeking mortgage loan modifications. According to court documents and statements made in court, GEUTSSOYAN and others…

(Source: local10.com) Local 10 investigation shows over-income families living in public housing - Click to watch video

(Source: USAO, LA) BATON ROUGE, LA - United States Attorney Walt Green announced the convictions of RHODA RENAE ROBERTSON, age 47, and LOUELLA ROBERTSON, age 68, both of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who pled guilty before U.S. District Judges Shelley Dick and John deGravelles, respectively, to theft of government funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.  RHODA ROBERTSON was convicted on February 16, 2016.  LOUELLA…

(Source: The Southern Illinoisan News) CAIRO — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Monday morning that it is immediately taking possession of the Alexander County Housing Authority. HUD said in a statement released to the media around 10 a.m. that it is taking this action “following a years-long pattern of financial and operational mismanagement, poor housing conditions, and alleged civil rights violations against the…

(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that MEHDI MOAREFIAN, a.k.a. “Michael Miller,” 36, and DANIEL SHIAU, a.k.a. “Scott Decker,” 30, both of Irvine, Calif., pleaded guilty yesterday in Bridgeport federal court to conspiring to defraud homeowners across the United States who were seeking mortgage loan modifications. According to court documents and statements made in court,…