(Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser) A former U.S. Housing and Urban Development employee accused of collecting Section 8 rental assistance on properties she and her husband managed and controlled pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court Wednesday to five counts of wire fraud. Chun Mei Tong, 42, a former HUD financial analyst, also pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated identity theft. She was accused of signing Section 8 owner…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The mastermind of a mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded financially distressed homeowners, investors, and financial institutions of nearly $1.5 million dollars was sentenced today to more than 13 years in federal prison. Hasan Hussain, 57, of Princeton, N.J., masterminded a scheme that defrauded distressed homeowners, investors, and financial institutions of fees, rental income, mortgage payment funds, property ownership and…

(Source: jerseyshoreonline.com)   TRENTON – A former Hoboken police officer, now living in Seaside Heights, was sentenced for stealing $187,000 by filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds after Superstorm Sandy, according to Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal. Nikola Lulaj, 45, of Seaside Heights, formerly of Dumont, New Jersey, was sentenced to five years in state prison. He was an officer in Hoboken, but had to forfeit his…

The Inspector General Act of 1978 requires the Inspector General to prepare semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office of Inspector General for the preceding six -month periods. The semiannual reports are intended to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the Agency has made and recommendations for improvement.

(SOURCE: Cleveland19.com) CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - A major new development surfaced Wednesday in a lucrative Facebook scam first exposed by a Cleveland 19 undercover investigation in June 2017. A Cuyahoga County grand jury has indicted Zienup Sbeih-Maddox, 24, of Cleveland; Kirsten Laurie, 26, of Cleveland; and Kimberly St. John-Stevenson, 54, of Cleveland Heights, in connection with the social media scam, which investigators say defrauded…

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted a businessman on tax evasion charges for allegedly scheming to evade personal income taxes for three years. As the owner of the security firm World Security Bureau, ABRAHAM KISWANI, also known as “Ibriham Kiswani,” willfully failed to pay the full amount of taxes on his personal income for the calendar years 2010, 2012, and 2013, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in…

The Inspector General Act of 1978 requires the Inspector General to prepare semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office of Inspector General for the preceding six -month periods. The semiannual reports are intended to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the Agency has made and recommendations for improvement.

John H. Durham. United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that STEVEN F. HARVIN, 53, of New Haven, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to one count of theft from programs receiving federal funds. According to court documents and statements made in court, the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (“HOPWA”) Program is a federal program dedicated to the housing needs of…

Greenbelt, Maryland – On December 3, 2018, U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Michelle Sylethia Jordan, a/k/a Michelle Harris and Michelle Welsh, age 49; and her husband, Michael Paul Anthony Welsh, a/k/a Michael A. Welsh and Michael Paul S. Welsh, age 45, both of Laurel, Maryland, to 57 months and 46 months in federal prison, respectively, each followed by three years of supervise release, on conspiracy and wire fraud charges in…

(SOURCE: KSTP.com) A source told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the Office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General is now investigating the theft of $270,000 from the Dakota County Community Development Agency. KSTP first reported in August that 39-year-old CDA employee, Yanglee Yang, had been fired in connection with the missing money. Yang was subsequently charged with five counts of theft in early November…

(SOURCE: clickondetroit.com) DETROIT - A former manager of the Colony Arms apartments in Detroit, Nekicha Redmond, 39, of Oxford, Mississippi, pleaded guilty on Monday to bribery, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced.  Schneider was joined in the announcement by Brad Geary, special agent in charge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General, and Timothy R. Slater, special agent in…

(Source: cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A former Cuyahoga Land Bank employee was indicted in federal court on charges that accuse him of helping a demolition company get contracts in exchange for performing improvements to his Cleveland Heights home. Kenneth Tyson, 48, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services fraud, three counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of bribery, the U.S. Attorney’s…

The owner of an asbestos removal and demolition business was indicted for paying cash bribes to a Cleveland employee in return for confidential information and preferential treatment regarding jobs for the city. Eric Witherspoon, 55, of Warrensville Heights, was indicted on two counts of bribery and seven counts of honest services wire fraud. According to the nine-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court: Witherspoon owned and operated…

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a federal indictment charging ROBERT ANTHONY COLEMAN, 45, and YOLANDA YVETTE COLEMAN aka YOLANDA YVETTE PITTMAN, 50, with multiple counts related to the theft of more than $248,000 of government funds. ROBERT COLEMAN is also charged with two counts of false statements and an additional count of Social Security fraud. They will make their initial appearances in U.S. District Court at a…

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a federal indictment charging ROBERT ANTHONY COLEMAN, 45, and YOLANDA YVETTE COLEMAN aka YOLANDA YVETTE PITTMAN, 50, with multiple counts related to the theft of more than $248,000 of government funds. ROBERT COLEMAN is also charged with two counts of false statements and an additional count of Social Security fraud. They will make their initial appearances in U.S. District Court at a…

A former executive director of a Cleveland community development corporation was arrested this morning for embezzling more than $172,000 from the Collinwood and Nottingham Villages Development Corporation. Tamiko Parker, 46, of Cleveland, is scheduled to appear on Thursday at 2 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. She has been indicted on one count of theft of federal funds. Parker served as executive director of Collinwood and Nottingham…

(Source: cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio — The former executive director of the Collinwood & Nottingham Villages Development Corporation was arrested by federal authorities Thursday on accusations that she stole money from the CDC. Tamiko Parker, 46, of Cleveland is charged with theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. The CDC, a nonprofit on the city’s East Side that develops and leases property, lost more than $172,000. She…

NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, woman today admitted making and using phony money orders, cashier’s checks, receipts and other fabricated documents to fraudulently discharge $2 million in mortgages, student loans, and other financial obligations, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Melissa Reynolds, 43, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to an information charging her with…

(Source: STL NEWS) Montgomery, Ala. – On Tuesday, November 6, 2018, Christopher B. Pitts, 48 years old and a Georgia resident who was previously a practicing attorney in Montgomery, Alabama, received a 37-month sentence for devising a scheme to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. United States District Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced Pitts after he pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States Department of Housing and Urban…

NEWARK, N.J. – A former candidate for the Hoboken City Council and a campaign worker were charged today by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to promote a voter bribery scheme by use of the mail, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Francis Raia, 67, of Hoboken, New Jersey, was a candidate for city council in 2013. Dio Braxton, 43, of Hoboken, worked for Raia’s campaign. A federal grand jury charged them today with conspiracy to violate…