MACON, Ga. – The former payroll clerk for the Milledgeville Housing Authority (MHA) has admitted she stole $575,000 by overpaying herself and entered a guilty plea in federal court today for her crime.Jennifer Kay Smith, 49, of Eatonton, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of federal program theft before U.S. District Senior Judge Marc Treadwell today. Smith faces a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment to be followed by three years of…

ATLANTA - Matthew Allen Dickason, who was the owner of an Atlanta law firm, has pleaded guilty to federal charges arising from a scheme to defraud the firm’s clients. “It is shameful for an attorney to abuse the trust placed in him by his clients, but that is exactly what Dickason did,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “He misappropriated millions of dollars belonging to his clients for his personal benefit with no regard for how his…

ATLANTA - Maurice Lawson has been sentenced to federal prison for obtaining nearly a half a million dollars by submitting multiple fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) applications. “Congress enacted the Paycheck Protection Program to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawson took advantage of a federal…

INDIANAPOLIS- Jeffrey Delucio, 54, of Richmond, Indiana, was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for violating the Toxic Substance Control Act, specifically the provisions of the Act concerning lead paint renovations, and for obstructing justice by fabricating records to obstruct a federal grand jury. According to court documents, Delucio operated Aluminum Brothers Home Improvements in Richmond, Indiana, which received federal grant money…

ATLANTA – Atlanta real estate agent Eric Hill has been sentenced for his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that netted more than $21 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.  Many of the fraudulent loans were insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), resulting in over $850,000 in claims being paid for mortgages that have defaulted.  Hill also engaged in a scheme to defraud his employer, a national real estate developer,…

Evansville – Acting United States Attorney John Childress announced today that Stephanie TenBarge, 73, of Evansville, Indiana, was sentenced to two years’ probation by U.S. District Judge Richard Young. TenBarge previously worked as the Executive Director at Echo Housing Corporation, where she embezzled more than $102,000 of funds over a three-year period from the organization which received federal, state, and local tax dollars. Echo Housing…

ATLANTA - Camelia Revels, a former case manager at HOPE Atlanta, and Katrise Jones, a property agent, have pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging them with conspiring to steal approximately $124,000 in federal funds intended to help homeless veterans. “The defendants betrayed the trust of veterans who came to them for help,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “The victims are men and women who sacrificed for their country…

ATLANTA – Twelve defendants have been charged in a mortgage fraud scheme allegedly spanning more than four years and resulting in the approval of more than 100 mortgages based on fabricated documents and false information.  Many of the loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) resulting in claims being paid for mortgages that have gone through loan modification. “These defendants allegedly used their knowledge of the…