(Source: USAO, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned a superseding indictment charging BRADFORD BARNEYS, 50, of Odenton, Maryland, with conspiring with TIMOTHY W. BURKE in a long-running fraud scheme that targeted distressed homeowners throughout Connecticut.  BARNEYS is an attorney licensed to practice in Connecticut and has an…

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a 24 count indictment charging Gregory Gibbons, 50, of Thornwood, NY; Julio Rodriguez, 51, of Bronx, NY; Laurence Savedoff, 42, of New City, NY, and Tina Brown, 40, of Bronx, New York with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud affecting financial institutions, wire and mail fraud affecting financial institutions, and bank fraud. The…

(Source KAUM News) A former GHURA employee pleads guilty to bribery. Antonia Mayo San Nicolas was indicted last month along with Section 8 landlord Albert Buendicho and Section 8 recipient Mattos Johnson in a bribery scheme.   Mayo pled guilty to three counts of receiving bribes as a 3rd degree felony and a special allegation of crimes against the community. She is set for sentencing next January while her co-defendants are set for…

(Source: USAO, ME) Contact: Donald E. Clark Assistant United States Attorney Tel: (207) 780-3257 Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Timothy P. Gallagher, 46, of Jay, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to federal program fraud. According to court records, between May and November 2014, the defendant embezzled about $80,000 from Stanford Management LLC (“Stanford”), a property…

(Source: USAO, NJ) NEWARK, N.J. – A real estate developer and landlord of commercial buildings in Palisades Park, New Jersey, today admitted soliciting a $50,000 bribe payment to a Palisades Park borough official, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Chung S. Kho, 68, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of using facilities in interstate commerce to promote bribery. According to the documents…

(Source: USAO, NJ) NEWARK, N.J. – A compliance officer with the Union City Community Development Agency (UCCDA) today admitted that he manipulated the contractor selection process for federally funded residential rehabilitation and sidewalk replacement projects, causing losses of $40,000 to $95,000, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Washington Borgono, 65, of North Bergen, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H.…

(Source: arkansasonline.com) The former executive director of the Hot Springs Housing Authority was ordered in federal court to repay the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development more than $5,500 for collecting twice on travel expenses. Barbara Louise Baer also was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $500 during a brief hearing Thursday before U.S. District Judge Susan O. Hickey in Hot Springs. Baer pleaded guilty in May to one…

(Source: hotspringsdaily.com) Dear Editor, Friday’s Sentinel Record had an article describing the felony sentencing of the past Hot Springs Housing director Barbara Baer. Baer was sentenced to two years’ probation for embezzlement and fined puny a $500. What is missing from this article is a description of the complicity and irresponsibility of the majority of the Housing Authority board in allowing this mess to occur. In addition, to…

(Source: USAO, WA) A SeaTac man who used a second identity to defraud public assistance programs for more than 20 years was convicted late yesterday of multiple federal felonies following a three day jury trial, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  TRAVIS EDWARD FISCHER, 49, lived with his girlfriend and three children in SeaTac, while also claiming benefits under the name Edward Travis Fisher in Seattle.  By pretending to be…

(Source: USAO, MS) Hattiesburg, Miss – Kenneth Fairley, 62, of Hattiesburg, and Artie Fletcher, 55, of Picayune, have been charged in a federal indictment with a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Jerome R. McDuffie, HUD Special Agent in Charge Nadine Gurley, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in…

HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) A Hub City pastor has been indicted in federal court on charges for defrauding the U.S. government. Rev. Kenneth Fairley was served with six-count indictment. Count 1 - Conspiracy to defraud the United States. Count 2 and 3 - Theft of government money. Count 4 - Conspiracy to commit money laundering. Count 5 and 6 - Engaging in monetary transactions. Fairley, pastor of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, appeared before…

(Source: USAo, CT) Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ARIA MALEKI, 33, of Santa Ana, Calif., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to conspiring to defraud homeowners across the United States who were seeking mortgage loan modifications. According to court documents and statements made in court, MALEKI and others jointly operated a series of…

(Source: heraldbulletin.com) ANDERSON – The son of an Anderson businessman was arrested Tuesday on suspicion he attempted to transfer Section 8 properties without the permission of his father, who has owned some of them for as long as 30 years. Madison County sheriff's deputies arrested Ben Thomas Jewell Jr., 54, 200 block of South Madison Avenue, Anderson, on preliminary charges of Class C felony forgery and Class D felony theft. He faces…

(Source: USAO, LA) LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that the former director of the Morgan City Housing Authority and two former employees were arraigned today on charges related to theft of half a million dollars. Charles E. Spann, 78, of Kingsport, Tenn.; and Diana L. Pace, 64, and Sandra L. Green, 59, both of Morgan City, La.; pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carol B. Whitehurst. The…

(Source:New Orleans Advocate) Big Freedia left federal court in a shiny Chevrolet Suburban on Wednesday with a whirl of cameras trailing her and a felony conviction on her record. The New Orleans bounce rapper, whose reality TV show made her a national star, pleaded guilty to the theft of nearly $35,000 in federal housing voucher money. The entertainer, whose real name is Freddie Ross Jr., admitted she fraudulently accepted the Section 8…

(Source: USAO, NY) Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, David A. Montoya, Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Frederick W. Gibson, Acting Inspector General for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today announced the settlement of claims against Continental Mortgage Bankers d/b/a Financial Equities and its president, Walter Stashin, in United States v. Rainy…

(source: wnep.com) HAZLETON -- State police, the IRS, and other federal agents raided the home of a controversial real estate agent Monday morning. Agents carried boxes out of the home of Ignacio Beato on Lincoln Street in Hazleton. They were there for about three hours. The case against Ignacio Beato is growing. What appeared to be a real estate scam in Hazleton may be much more. That's why federal agencies are now involved, with the Luzerne…

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

  Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Topic: "HUD Office of Inspector General Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request and HUD’s Top Management and Performance Challenges". You may view the hearing through the Senate Committee’s page at United States Senate Committee on Appropriations.

(Source: USAO, MA) BOSTON – Lucy Girard, 78, of Townsend, Mass., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to stealing over $200,000 in Social Security and federal housing benefits. In February 2016, Girard was charged in a felony information.  U.S. District Court Senior Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for June 1, 2016. In 1994, Girard was listed as the informant of death on her mother’s death certificate when she…