We audited the Kankakee County Housing Authority's (Authority) Low-Rent Housing Program. The audit was conducted in response to a citizen's complaint to our office and was part of our comprehensive audit of the Authority. The object of our audit was to determine whether the Authority administered its Low-Rent Housing program in an efficient and effective manner. We determined whether the Authority had adequate procedures and controls over its…

We completed an audit of the Kankakee Count Housing Authority's Section 8 Housing Program. The audit was conducted based upon a citizen's complaint to our Office. The objectives of our audit were to determine where the Authority: (1) administered its Section 8 Program in an efficient and effective manner; and (2) provided decent, safe, and sanitary housing for its Section 8 tenants. This audit is part of our on-going comprehensive audit of the…

CHICAGO — A Chicago businessman was sentenced today to more than 17 years in federal prison for bilking elderly homeowners in a reverse mortgage and home repair scheme.MARK STEVEN DIAMOND schemed with others to induce homeowners to unwittingly obtain reverse mortgage loans to pay for purported home repairs that Diamond offered to perform.  Diamond and the co-schemers targeted elderly victims in the Chicago area based on the amount of equity…

CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme in Chicago that bilked multiple financial institutions out of more than $1.5 million.LEE HOLLIDAY, 66, of Schererville, Ind., pleaded guilty last year to a federal bank fraud charge.  U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis on Friday sentenced Holliday to three years and three months in federal prison.Holliday admitted in a plea…

DETROIT – United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Dawn N. Ison and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis hosted two summits yesterday focused on promoting the health, safety, and civil rights of tenants living in HUD-assisted housing. The program focused on combatting sexual misconduct and eliminating environmental hazards in HUD-assisted housing.The summits, which took place at…

CHICAGO — A federal jury in Chicago has convicted a loan originator of orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme that bilked multiple financial institutions out of $2.6 million.KEVIN SMITH, 52, of Melrose Park, Ill., was found guilty on Sept. 6, 2024, of all five bank fraud counts against him.  Each count is punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge John F. Kness set sentencing for Dec. 17, 2024.Smith was a loan…

CHICAGO — A former attorney has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for embezzlement and fraud in connection with the failure of Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago.ROBERT M. KOWALSKI served a key role in an embezzlement scheme at Washington Federal.  The bank, which was based in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood, was shut down in 2017 after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency determined that it was insolvent…

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago businessman has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for willfully evading more than $3.7 million in federal and state income taxes.ABRAHAM KISWANI 54, of Burbank, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to a federal tax evasion charge.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah on Thursday fined Kiswani $10,000.Kiswani served as the president of World Security Bureau, a Chicago-area…

DETROIT – Zina Thomas, 60, of Detroit was charged in a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court for her role orchestrating a fraud scheme that stole houses from dozens of Detroit residents, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.Ison was joined in the announcement by Special Agent-in-Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent-in-Charge Machelle L. Jindra, Department of Housing and Urban…

DETROIT – Siemens Industry, Inc., a subsidiary of Siemens Corporation, has agreed to pay over $1 million to resolve possible False Claims Act violations, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.Ison was joined in the announcement by Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.Siemens Industry, Inc., on behalf of itself and predecessor entity Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. (Siemens…

CHICAGO — A former board member of the failed Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for conspiring to falsify bank records to deceive the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and for filing false tax returns.WILLIAM M. MAHON, 57, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and tax charges.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall ordered…

CHICAGO — A former employee of the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for using “straw buyers” to fraudulently purchase and resell properties from the agency on his behalf.MUSTAFAA SALEH, 37, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a wire fraud charge.  U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood imposed the year-and-a-day prison sentence during a hearing Friday in federal court in Chicago.…

CHICAGO — A man has been convicted in federal court of obtaining money by threat from a strip club in a Chicago suburb.ROMMELL KELLOGG, 71, of Harvey, Ill., was convicted Monday on all five counts against him, including conspiracy to commit theft and intimidation and causing the use of facilities in interstate commerce to promote theft and intimidation.  The jury returned its verdicts after a week-long trial in U.S. District Court in…

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted the mayor of Riverdale, Ill. for allegedly lying under oath in a civil deposition and corruptly obstructing a lawsuit that claimed the mayor retaliated against a former city vendor.LAWRENCE JACKSON, 49, of Riverdale, Ill, is charged with one count of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice, according to the indictment returned Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. …

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury has indicted the president of an environmental services company for allegedly obstructing an investigation into the grant funding of a hotel demolition project in the Chicago suburb of Harvey, Ill. CARL FIORAVANTI, 55, of Lansing, Ill., is charged with one count of obstruction of justice, according to an indictment returned Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The charge is punishable by up to 20…

CHICAGO — Three former board members of the failed Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago have pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to falsify bank records to deceive the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. WILLIAM M. MAHON, 56, of Chicago, and GEORGE F. KOZDEMBA, 73, of Fort Myers, Fla., pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge during a hearing Monday before U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall.  Mahon’s guilty…

BENTON, Ill. – A U.S. district judge sentenced the former executive director of the Jefferson County Housing Authority to spend 10 months in federal prison after he converted more than $20,000 in authority funds for personal expenses. In addition to the prison sentence, Thomas J. Upchurch, 53, now of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, was ordered to pay $20,150 in restitution back to the housing authority, and he will serve one year of supervised…

URBANA, Ill. – A Champaign, Illinois, man, Lekevie C. Johnson, formerly of the 2000 block of Clayton Boulevard, was sentenced on April 10, 2023, to 10 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay $59,358.90 restitution following his December 2022 guilty pleas to financial crimes including federal program misapplication, student loan misapplication, and false statement in bankruptcy. Johnson was formerly the pastor of Mount Calvary Missionary…

CHICAGO — A federal jury has found a former Illinois attorney and real estate developer guilty on two counts of embezzlement, six counts of bankruptcy fraud, and eight counts of tax fraud following a nearly four week-long trial in Chicago. Evidence at trial revealed that ROBERT KOWALSKI, 61, of Chicago was a close associate of John Gembara, the former President of Washington Federal Bank for Savings (“WFBS”), a small bank in Chicago’s…

DETROIT – Three family members of the former executive director of the St. Clair Housing Commission, Lorena Loren, were sentenced today to federal prison after having pleaded guilty to various federal offenses due to their involvement in Loren’s fraudulent scheme to steal money from the Section 8 program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced. Ison was joined in the…