We audited the Benton Harbor Housing Commission's (Commission) Public Housing Captial Fund program (program). The audit was conducted based upon a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Detroit Office of Public Housing. Our objectives were to determine whether the Commission operated its program in a manner that provides reasonable assurance that (1) expenditures were adequately supported and eligible and (2)…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Gary's (Authority) Section 8 housing program. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2005 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based upon a risk analysis the identified it as having a high risk Section 8 housing program. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority managed its Section 8 program in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

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…

CLEVELAND – Basheer Jones, 40, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been sentenced to 28 months in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese, after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud by using his role as a public official for personal financial gain by seeking to defraud multiple community stakeholders out of more than $200,000. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment…

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…

CLEVELAND – Basheer Jones, 40, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been charged in a two-count information with conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud for using his role as a public official for personal financial gain by seeking to defraud multiple community stakeholders out of more than $200,000. He previously served as an elected Cleveland city council member representing Ward 7.According to court documents, from about December 2018 to…

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…

CINCINNATI – The former executive director of the Clermont Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to federal program theft.Timothy Holland, 57, of Williamsburg, Ohio, admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars intended to assist low-income residents of Clermont County, Ohio.According to court documents, Holland served from 2012 until 2019 as the executive director for CMHA, the United States…

The Justice Department announced today that Kevin Martin, an owner and manager of residential rental properties in and around Athens, Ohio, has agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed female tenants and housing applicants in violation of the Fair Housing Act.The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges that, from at least 2010 to at least 2020, Martin requested…

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…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man who estimated he filed more than 3,000 fraudulent COVID-relief applications was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 72 months in prison.The fraud scheme perpetuated by Ousmane Diane, 24, caused a loss of more than $908,000. He submitted applications for more than $2 million in funding.Diane pleaded guilty in October 2023 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.According to court documents, Diane used the…

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…

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati tenant pleaded guilty in federal court today to making false statements accusing her landlord of violating the Fair Housing Act.Dermisha Pickett, 33, fabricated messages from her landlord stating the landlord did not want Black tenants.According to court documents, in February 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was forwarded several text messages purportedly sent by the Cincinnati-area landlord as part of a civil rights…

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.…