The United States has filed a complaint under the National Housing Act of 1934 (NHA) against Bob Dean Jr. and several affiliated corporate entities for misappropriating and misusing the assets and income of four nursing homes in Louisiana before and after Hurricane Ida’s landfall in August 2021. The four nursing homes, all of which were owned and operated by Dean and his companies, and had loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA…

CLEVELAND  – Diane A. Mason, 52, of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced on Jan. 4, 2023, to two years in prison by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan after she pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft.  According to court documents, between January 2017 and October 2020, Mason stole $72,476 in Social Security Retirement Insurance benefits and $40,143.60 in monthly pension benefits from the Xerox Corporation, which were…

INDIANAPOLIS- Jeffrey Delucio, 54, of Richmond, Indiana, was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for violating the Toxic Substance Control Act, specifically the provisions of the Act concerning lead paint renovations, and for obstructing justice by fabricating records to obstruct a federal grand jury. According to court documents, Delucio operated Aluminum Brothers Home Improvements in Richmond, Indiana, which received federal grant money…

PROVIDENCE – A North Providence woman convicted of defrauding multiple publicly-funded programs was sentenced on Tuesday to eighteen months in federal prison for making false statements when applying for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage, a Small Business Association (SBA) loan, and for fraudulently applying for government-funded COVID unemployment benefits, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. In March 2022,…

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kory O’Hara, age 45, the former Town Supervisor of Prattsville, New York, was sentenced today to 1 year of probation, and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $24,915 in restitution to the State of New York, for committing wire fraud in connection with a grant extended to Prattsville in the wake of Hurricane Irene.  The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; New York State Comptroller Thomas P.…

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the sentencing of a Los Angeles broker, who was involved in a mortgage loan fraud scheme in Southern California. The broker, Alex Ashod Dadourian, defrauded lenders by using forged documents and fraudulent records to obtain more than $8 million in mortgage loans for his clients in order to earn commissions for himself. Today, he was convicted on 91 felony counts of mortgage…

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Francis Cardinell, 76, of Penfield, NY, was charged by criminal complaint with obstruction of justice and lying under oath. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, who is handling the case, stated that George Moses, former chairman of the board of the Rochester Housing Authority, was recently…

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…

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that George H. Moses, 53, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted by a federal jury for his role in defrauding three nonprofit organizations; Rochester Housing Charities (RHC), which provides housing to the elderly and disabled; the North East Area Development (NEAD), which assists low-income residents in the northeast quadrant of Rochester; and Quad A for Kids, which provided after-school…

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…

HUD OIG and HUD are working together to raise awareness about fraud to prevent, detect, and respond to internal and external threats of fraud to HUD programs.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that LEROY GIBBS and JULIO FIGUEROA each pled guilty to accepting bribes for awarding no-bid contracts at the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) facilities at which they served as superintendents.  GIBBS pled guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein on October 7, 2022, and will be sentenced by United States District…

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Christina D. Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, announced that MICHAEL DiMASSA, 31, of West Haven, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in…

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Christina D. Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, announced that MICHAEL DiMASSA, 31, of West Haven, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in…

The Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General conducts oversight of HUD’s programs. One of its top priorities is helping HUD protect renters and homebuyers from lead hazards, which may exist in HUD assisted-housing built before 1978.

BOSTON – A Salem, Mass. real estate developer was sentenced to four years in prison today in connection with a decade-long mortgage fraud scheme involving at least two dozen loan transactions, totaling $6.5 million, that resulted in more than $3.8 million in losses to lenders. George Kritopoulos, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to four years in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release. The judge…

BOSTON – A Salem, Mass. real estate developer was sentenced to four years in prison today in connection with a decade-long mortgage fraud scheme involving at least two dozen loan transactions, totaling $6.5 million, that resulted in more than $3.8 million in losses to lenders. George Kritopoulos, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to four years in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release. The judge…

WASHINGTON DC— Seven Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs), as members of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Disaster Assistance Working Group, conducted a cross-cutting review to assist agencies across the Federal Government to better prepare for, and respond to, future natural disasters.  The CIGIE Disaster Assistance Working Group helps coordinate the Federal IG community’s oversight efforts…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The former director of a local Islamic center pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to embezzling funds from the mosque, defrauding public housing, and filing for fraudulent COVID assistance funds. Ahmed A. Sh. Ahmed, 43, of Gahanna, admitted in federal court today to committing wire fraud, submitting a false statement and making a false statement. According to court documents, from at least 2009 until March 2019, Ahmed…

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Pamela McDaniel, 68, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to alteration of a postal money order, and admitted she used her position at the Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority (CKHA) to obtain the money order and embezzle more than $28,000. According to court documents and statements made in court, McDaniel had been employed by CKHA since 2006 and was serving as a housing manager in 2018. As a housing manager, McDaniel’s…