Attached is the final report on our audit of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (Authority), Richmond, Virginia, Audit Report Number 2008-PH-1006, dated April 15, 2008. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority adequately managed its waiting list, met HUD's lease-up thresholds, and operated its Family Self-Sufficiency program according to HUD requirements. The Authority's Housing Choice Voucher program…

We audited the Harrisburg Housing Authority's (Authority) administration of its housing quality standards inspection program for its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program based on the survey results of our recently completed audit of the Authority's low-rent public housing and Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher programs. This is our second audit report issued on the Authority's programs. The audit objective addressed in this…

Our audit objective was to determine whether Elders Place, Incorporated, (Elders Place, Inc.), administered project operating funds in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. Elders Place, Inc., did not administer project operating funds in accordance with HUD requirements. It made more than $309,900 in unsupported disbursements and more than $73,400 in ineligible disbursements and, thereby, did not…

Attached is the final report on our audit of the Housing Authority of the City of Allentown (Authority), Allentown, Pennsylvania, Audit Report Number 2008-PH-1003, dated November 21, 2007. Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority calculated housing assistance payments accurately and properly maintained documentation in its tenant files for its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program according to U.S. Department of Housing and…

Attached is the final report on our audit of the Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, branch of National City Mortgage (branch office), Audit Report Number 2008-PH-1002, dated November 20, 2007. We selected the branch office because its default rate was above the state's default rate. Our objective was to determine whether the branch office complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, procedures, and…

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Doris Santana, age 54, of Thompsontown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on May 22, 2025, to six months’ home confinement by United States District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson for social security fraud and theft of public money related to her theft of social security and federal housing funds.According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus…

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Two residents of Brentwood, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty and were sentenced in federal court on January 15, 2025, on charges of making false statements on a loan application, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.Husband and wife Brennan and Angela McNally each pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer to one count of making a false statement on a loan application. In separate…

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and race-based interference with housing and employment.According to court documents, David L. Merryman, 59, owned 39 rental properties in Newport News and 23 more in Hampton.  Many of Merryman’s rental properties were in poor condition and located in low-income neighborhoods. He primarily rented the properties to…

RICHMOND, Va. – U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis hosted a Safe Housing Summit in Richmond on Sept. 16 focused on combatting sexual misconduct, promoting environmental justice, and protecting the civil rights of residents in HUD-assisted housing.The summit was attended by representatives from a number of organizations,…

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man pled guilty today to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and race-based interference with housing and employment.According to court documents, David L. Merryman, 59, owns 39 rental properties in Newport News and 23 more in Hampton.  Many of Merryman’s rental properties were in poor condition and located in low-income neighborhoods. He primarily rented the properties to underprivileged African American…

PHILADELPHIA – Landlord Allan R. Posner and his property management company ILJOR Properties, LLC, have agreed to pay $570,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act during their participation in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), commonly known as “Section 8.”The HCVP is the federal government’s primary program for helping low-income families, the elderly, and…

SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Paul Helring, age 48, a former Scranton police officer and the former elected police union president, was sentenced on June 4, 2024, by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to 6 months’ imprisonment and a 2-year term of supervised release for the offense of Theft Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds.According to the…

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Norman D. Wise, 58, of Mullica Hill, NJ, Douglas E. Daniel, 65, of Philadelphia, PA, and Leonard F. Coleman, 54, of Paulsboro, NJ, were sentenced this week by United States District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone on bribery and fraud charges related to two schemes: (1) a bribery scheme in which Coleman paid off Wise and Daniel in exchange for contracting work awarded to…

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Norman D. Wise, 58, of Mullica Hill, NJ, Douglas E. Daniel, 65, of Philadelphia, PA, and Leonard F. Coleman, 54, of Paulsboro, NJ, were sentenced this week by United States District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone on bribery and fraud charges related to two schemes: (1) a bribery scheme in which Coleman paid off Wise and Daniel in exchange for contracting work awarded to…

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday against a Hampton-based landlord for using force and threats of force against African American victims, including a businessman, a city official in Newport News, and four tenants. The indictment further charged the landlord with defrauding tenants and the government to obtain rent relief benefits, housing assistance payments for public housing, and other funds to which he…