We audited the Cathedral Foundation of Jacksonville, Inc. (Foundation), concerning its involvement as owner and/or manager of four elderly multifamily housing projects (projects) located in Jacksonville, Florida. We conducted the audit based on a request from the Jacksonville Multifamily Housing Hub, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Jacksonville, Florida. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Foundation operated…

Bob Dean Jr. and several companies that he owned and operated have agreed to an $8.2 million consent judgment to resolve allegations that they violated the National Housing Act of 1934 (NHA), by misappropriating and misusing the assets and income of four nursing homes in Louisiana before and after Hurricane Ida’s landfall in August 2021. The four nursing homes, all of which were owned and operated by Dean and his companies, and had loans insured…

NEW ORLEANS - United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that LEESSA AUGUSTINE (“AUGUSTINE”), age 46, was indicted on September 20, 2024 for her involvement in multiple fraud schemes while employed as a Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (“S&WB”) Senior Special Agent, a position tasked with investigating the alleged misconduct of other Sewerage & Water Board employees.In one alleged scheme, AUGUSTINE, who…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit report examining the City of New Orleans’ (the City) use of HUD’s National Disaster Resilience grant funding.  HUD’s program is designed to help state and local communities recover from past disasters, while also improving their infrastructure to withstand future extreme events through strategic community…

Orlando, FL –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Maria Del Carmen Montes (46, Kissimmee) has pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud. Each bank fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. Montes was indicted, along with coconspirator Carlos Ferrer, on July 20, 2022.According to the plea agreement, Montes, coconspirator Ferrer, and others created and executed a mortgage fraud scheme targeting…

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul Byron has sentenced Omayra Ujaque (52, St. Cloud) to two years and eight months in federal prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Ujaque was convicted at trial on April 13, 2023. According to evidence presented at trial, Ujaque, in her capacity as a licensed mortgage loan officer, created and executed a mortgage fraud scheme targeting the financial institution where she worked. To ensure…

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Oliver Barrington King (44, Deland) has pleaded guilty to theft of government funds. King faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. In addition, King has agreed to forfeit $16,618.91, the amount he obtained as a result of the offense. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. According to the plea agreement, King was the property manager for an apartment…

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Omayra Ujaque (52, St. Cloud) guilty of three counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Ujaque faces a maximum penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment for each bank fraud count and a mandatory 2-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft county. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 5, 2023. Ujaque had been indicted on…

ALEXANDRIA, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Lisa G. Cooper, 55, of Cottonport, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to federal program theft. The hearing was held today before United States District Judge Dee D. Drell. According to evidence presented to the court, Cooper was employed by, and an agent of, the Cottonport Housing Authority (“CHA”), which is a local government agency that provides…

ALEXANDRIA, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Lisa G. Cooper, 55, of Cottonport, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to federal program theft. The hearing was held today before United States District Judge Dee D. Drell. According to evidence presented to the court, Cooper was employed by, and an agent of, the Cottonport Housing Authority (“CHA”), which is a local government agency that provides…

Orlando, FL –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging Maria Del Carmen Montes (46, Kissimmee) with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.  If convicted, Montes faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on the conspiracy count, up to 30 years for each fraud count, and a mandatory penalty of 2 years’…

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A loan officer is accused in a bizarre scheme to help home buyers get bigger loans than they might have qualified for otherwise. She was working for a mortgage company in Kissimmee, at the time, and later started her own business. Court records show she is also accused of stealing the identities of judges. According to the federal indictment, she is accused of making fake divorce documents, including forging judges’…

Orlando, FL –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Evelisse Hernandez (40, Kissimmee) with four counts of bank fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in federal prison on each bank fraud count and a mandatory consecutive 2 years’ imprisonment on the aggravated identity theft counts. The indictment also notifies Hernandez that the United States…

New Orleans, LA – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that Kevin Richardson, 59, of New Orleans, was sentenced on January 13, 2022 by United States District Judge Susie Morgan to thirty (30) months in the Bureau of Prisons for violating Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1952(a)(3) and 2, use of an interstate facility with intent to carry on unlawful activity. According to the court documents, Richardson was employed…

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Vladimir Volgaev (69, Sarasota) to two years and nine months in federal prison for theft of government property and smuggling goods from the United States, in violation of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The court also ordered Volgaev to forfeit $6,835, which is traceable to proceeds of the offense. Volgaev had pleaded guilty on August 19, 2019. According to…

NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that today WESLEY T. BISHOP, age 52, of New Orleans was sentenced to 4 (four) years of probation, before U.S. District Judge Greg Guidry, for making a false statement, a crime punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.  BISHOP admitted to knowingly and willfully making a false, material statement to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) in connection…