URBANA, Ill. – Lekevie C. Johnson, 47, formerly of the 2000 block of Clayton Boulevard in Champaign, Illinois, pleaded guilty on December 1, 2022, to Federal Program Misapplication, Student Loan Misapplication, and False Statement in Bankruptcy. Sentencing for Johnson has been scheduled on April 10, 2023, at the U.S. Courthouse in Urbana, Illinois. In court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long, Johnson admitted that he was formerly the…

CHICAGO — A former employee of the Cook County Land Bank Authority used “straw buyers” to fraudulently purchase and resell properties from the agency on his behalf, according to a federal fraud charge filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago. MUSTAFAA SALEH, 36, of Chicago, is charged with one count of wire fraud.  The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.  Arraignment in U.S. District Court in Chicago…

NEWARK, N.J. – Newark Housing Authority (NHA)’s former director of information technology was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for using his position to embezzle NHA funds to purchase cellular telephones and other electronic devices, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Venancio Diaz, 57, of Jersey City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti in Newark federal court to an information…

NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man today admitted committing wire fraud and making false reports and statements to and for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Shenandoah Adams Sr., aka “Shane Adams Sr.,” 56, of New Providence, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to one count of an indictment charging him with wire fraud and an…

CHICAGO — A police officer in Harvey, Ill., threatened to interfere with local towing companies’ ability to compete for city work unless they paid him cash and other benefits, according to a federal indictment. From 2011 to 2019, DERRICK MUHAMMAD served as a Harvey Police Officer and oversaw the Harvey Police Department’s Traffic Division.  The role provided Muhammad with the authority to assign City of Harvey towing work to private towing…

NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Newark Municipal Council and Board of Directors of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC) today admitted scheming to obtain bribes and kickbacks and subscribing to a false personal tax return for 2018, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Joseph A. McCallum Jr., 66, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to an information charging him with one count…

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for conspiring to obtain mortgage loans to finance the sale of properties to unqualified buyers, securities fraud by inducing a victim into investing over $1.2 million into real estate companies under false pretenses, and violation of supervised release, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced. Maurice Bethea, 54, of Newark, previously…

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for conspiring to obtain mortgage loans to finance the sale of properties to unqualified buyers, securities fraud by inducing a victim into investing over $1.2 million into real estate companies under false pretenses, and violation of supervised release, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced. Maurice Bethea, 54, of Newark, previously…

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Shomanicka Holly, 36, of East Saint Louis, Illinois, pled guilty today to a two-count felony information charging her with health care fraud and making materially false statements on a public housing form. As part of her plea, Holly admitted to defrauding a government funded health care program by requesting payment for services that she never performed.  The Illinois Department of Human Services (“IDHS”) operates a…

The Justice Department announced today that Joseph Centanni, a landlord who has owned hundreds of rental units in and around Elizabeth, New Jersey, has agreed to pay $4.5 million in monetary damages and a civil penalty to resolve a Fair Housing Act (FHA) lawsuit concerning his sexual harassment of tenants and housing applicants for more than 15 years. This settlement, which still must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of…

CHICAGO — An ongoing federal investigation into the failure of Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago has resulted in criminal charges against three former members of the bank’s Board of Directors who allegedly conspired to obstruct regulators and falsify bank records. Washington Federal was closed in December 2017 after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency determined that the bank was insolvent and had at least $66 million in…

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…

NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was arrested today on charges of engaging in mortgage fraud, fraudulently obtaining an SBA loan, and stealing another person’s identity information, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced. Nathanael Zimmerman, 40, of Wyckoff, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count each of wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. He is scheduled to appear by videoconference this…

The owner of hundreds of rental units scattered across 18 residential properties in Elizabeth has been arrested and criminally charged with coercing more than a dozen of his tenants into sexual acts in exchange for financial relief, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Elizabeth Police Department Chief Giacomo Sacca and Director Earl Graves jointly announced Monday. Joseph Centanni, 73, of Mountainside is charged with eight…

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury has indicted a real estate developer and three others for allegedly participating in a mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded financial institutions out of at least $3 million. ANDRZEJ LAJEWSKI, who owned Des Plaines-based Highland Consulting Corp., and Chicago-based Quality Management and Remodeling Inc., schemed with two mortgage professionals and the owner of a remodeling company to fraudulently obtain at least $…

Defendants Allegedly Engaged in a Scheme to Purchase Real Estate at Fraudulently Depressed Short Sale Prices Resulting in Millions of Dollars in False Claims Submitted to HUD’s FHA Mortgage Insurance Program The United States has filed a civil complaint in federal court in Brooklyn seeking damages and penalties against three individuals and multiple companies alleged to have engaged in a wide-ranging mortgage fraud scheme to defraud the…

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…

CHICAGO — A north suburban financial adviser has been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly swindling clients who had sought her assistance in purchasing a new home after foreclosure. MARY MARTINEZ, also known as Mary Flores, 53, of Glencoe, is charged with ten counts of wire fraud in an indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  Arraignment has not yet been scheduled. The indictment was announced by John R…

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…