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…

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…

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Two Nigerian nationals have been sentenced to prison, probation, and owe over $500,000 in restitution for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims in romance fraud schemes, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger. According to court documents, beginning in 2016 through 2019, Charles Emeka Obije, 41, used fictitious identities to contact victims throughout the United States, including Minnesota, via email…

MINNEAPOLIS – An Albert Lea woman has been sentenced to a year and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, and is required to pay $213,217 in restitution for stealing public housing rent payments, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. According to court documents, between January 2010 and July 18, 2018, Marcie Marie Thumann, 45, worked as a bookkeeper for the Albert Lea Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), a government…

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…

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…

DETROIT – Three family members of the former executive director of the St. Clair Housing Commission, Lorena Loren, pleaded guilty today to various federal offenses due to their involvement in Loren’s fraudulent scheme to steal money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced. Ison was joined in the announcement by Machelle L. Jindra, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S.…

MINNEAPOLIS – The Justice Department today announced that it has obtained a consent decree with Reese Pfeiffer and several other defendants to resolve allegations that Pfeiffer violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by subjecting 23 women to severe and repeated sexual harassment and retaliation at residential properties defendants own or manage in and around Minneapolis. Under the consent decree, the defendants must pay a total of $736,000 in…

GULFPORT, MI—Former Harrison County supervisor Kim Savant, 65, of Gulfport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden today to sixty months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, IRS—Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Jerome McDuffie and FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald Alway. Savant was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.…