NEWARK — The former executive director of an East Orange-based non-profit developer of low-income housing was arrested today on charges she had embezzled more than $380,000 from the corporation, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement this evening. Lancie Marchan, 64, who headed the East Orange Revitalization and Development Corporation, used the money for trips, hotel stays, visits to casinos and gifts, among other things, the…

USAO, Southern District of New York Press Release In Settlement, Bank Admits and Accepts Responsibility for Improperly Approving Thousands of Mortgage Loans for Government Insurance, and Agrees to Implement Enhanced Quality Control Program to Protect Against Future Violations Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Associate Attorney General Tony West, Stuart F. Delery, the Assistant Attorney General for…

United States Attorney District of Connecticut Press Release Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GARI-MARK THOMAS, 38, of Michigan, formerly of Norwalk, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Smith in Hartford to one count of conspiracy to defraud the Federal Housing Authority through a mortgage fraud scheme. According to court…

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – JPMorgan Chase Bank has agreed to pay $614 million to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit, but it is unclear how much of that will be paid to a whistleblower who brought suit against the company. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the settlement, which resolves allegations that JPMorgan Chase improperly approved thousands of residential home mortgage loans for government insurance and refinancing. The…

United States Attorney District of Maryland Press Release Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Jared Fanning, age 35, of Potomac, Maryland, today to 22 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for wire fraud in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain mortgages worth approximately $13 million. Judge Messitte also entered an order that Fanning pay restitution and forfeiture of $…

Detroit — Bobby Ferguson’s last remaining co-defendant pleaded guilty Friday in a surprise move just before a jury was seated in a $12 million bid-rigging trial. The move by Ferguson’s colleague Michael Woodhouse to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge also came after U.S. District Judge David Lawson refused to let the West Bloomfield Township man stand trial separately from Ferguson. Woodhouse, the former president of Ferguson’s company Xcel…

USAO Western District of Michigan Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014 Maple Rapids Resident James Ortman Admits to Fraud in Conjunction with Federal Grants for Buildings he Formerly Owned in St. Johns, Michigan GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr., announced today that James Francis Ortman, 58, of Maple Rapids, Michigan, pled guilty to a felony information filed on January 8, 2014, that…

GRAND RAPIDS — A St. Johns businessman has pleaded guilty to charges that he submitted false claims to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, federal prosecutors announced today. James Ortman, 58, admitted earlier this month to defrauding HUD out of a $200,000 grant in 2008 for a facade project for a building in downtown St. Johns. He also admitted to defrauding the government on another grant for an apartment complex in St.…

USAO District of Connecticut Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 28, 2014 Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARC JEAN, 44, a citizen of Haiti residing in Norwich, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme. According to court…

This Press Release Courtesy of United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden - Department of Justice - District of Nevada LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A woman who pleaded guilty to stealing over $400,000 from the unemployment system, public housing authority, and Social Security Administration, was sentenced today to 57 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $477,466 in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States…

USAO District of Connecticut Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  January 28, 2014 United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that WINSTON SHILLINGFORD, 56, and his wife, MARLEEN SHILLINGFORD, 47, of Nesconset, N.Y., were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to prison terms of 48 months and 36 months, respectively, for operating a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme that involved…

(LAS VEGAS, KXNT)–A Las Vegas woman who ripped off the unemployment system, public housing authority and Social Security of over $400,000 has been given a nearly 5 year prison term. Teresa Towns , 50, who pleaded guilty last Fall to various charges involving the theft of government money, has been ordered to pay $477,000 restitution. Over an eight year period until her arrest last year, prosecutors say Towns used various aliases to establish…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 15, 2014 Liberado Peralta, 69, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, was charged today by indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims and three counts of aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. In a related case, Florentina Peralta, a/k/a “Cindy Peralta,” Jose Peralta, a/k/a “Tony Peralta,” and Fayez Antonios were each charged today by…

Like a fire-and-brimstone preacher, a federal judge dressed down a local pastor and former Columbus Urban League official yesterday before sentencing him to 31/2 years in prison for stealing more than $85,000 from the league. U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley chastised defendant Ovell K. Harrison for undermining the Urban League and filling his own pockets for seven years with money that should have gone to those in need of housing, child…

USAO Southern District of Ohio FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014 http://www.justice.gov/usao/ohs COLUMBUS – Ovell K. Harrison, 55, of Columbus, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay $85,181.25 in restitution for fraud and identity theft he committed while Director of Education Services at the Columbus Urban League between 2004 and 2010. Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 16, 2014 FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TAOS COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY SENTENCED TO THIRTY MONTHS IN PRISON FOR CONSPIRACY TO STEAL FEDERAL FUNDS Husband/Co-Conspirator Sentenced to Twenty-Four Months in Prison Couple Also Ordered to Pay $786,014.04 in Restitution ALBUQUERQUE – Earlier today a federal judge sentenced the former executive director of the Taos County Housing Authority (TCHA) and her husband to…

For Immediate Release Contact:  HUD OIG Public Affairs [email protected] On August 8, 2013, this office received a request from Congressman Frank Pallone Jr., regarding the State of New Jersey’s Post-Hurricane Sandy Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Action Plan.  Audits of Federal expenditures of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, including disaster-related activities, are something that…

Former Lafayette and Opelousas Housing Authority Executive Director Walter Guillory has been indicted on federal bribery and wire fraud charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Thursday filed charges against Guillory, who was forced to resign as LHA director Oct. 25, 2010, following an audit that revealed problems at the LHA. Guillory served as executive director of the Opelousas Housing Authority from 2005 until 2009 while he was also executive…

An Oakland County woman who admits stealing $380,000 from a program for the homeless is facing two years or more in prison. Linda Linseman is a former state employee. She's returning to Detroit federal court Tuesday, four months after pleading guilty to theft of government property. The plea deal signed by the 55-year-old Waterford woman says she spent the money for herself or allowed others to enjoy it. The scheme lasted four years until…

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz - District of Massachusetts DEVELOPER SENTENCED TO 12.5 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ORCHESTRATING MASSIVE MORTGAGE FRAUD INVOLVING OVER $7 MILLION IN LOSS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING PHONE:  (617)748-3356 E-MAIL:  [email protected] WWW.JUSTICE.GOV/USAO/MA/NEWS BOSTON –  A Boston man was sentenced late yesterday on charges relating to a massive mortgage…