PITTSBURGH – A Westmoreland County resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of bank fraud and mail fraud, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today. The five-count indictment, returned on June 27, named Nicolette Gizzi, age 44, of North Huntingdon Read More

(Source: KRGV TV) WESLACO – The Weslaco Housing Authority is under a federal inspection. Federal auditors said the agency spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on unnecessary trips. Federal authorities said they found more than $23,000 used the wrong way. The Office of Inspector General’s audit Read More

BOSTON – A Taunton woman pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston today to concealing information and making false statements in order to receive Social Security disability benefits and Section 8 housing assistance to which she was not entitled.   Marisha Ebanks, 40, pleaded guilty to Read More

CHICAGO — A Chicago businessman has been arraigned on federal fraud charges for his alleged role in a scheme to bilk elderly homeowners out of millions of dollars. MARK STEVEN DIAMOND, a mortgage loan originator with offices in Chicago and Calumet City, engaged in a home repair and loan fraud Read More

The United States has intervened in a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and the CRA/LA (formerly the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles) alleging that they falsely certified compliance with federal accessibility laws in connection with claims submitted to the U.S. Read More

(Source: sandiegouniontribune.com) Mental Health Systems, the San Diego charity that last year was the subject of allegations of misconduct and lavish spending on luxury hotels and limousines, failed to properly account for more than $140,000 in federal housing funds, a new audit states. “MHS did Read More

COLUMBUS – Wendy Harper, 44, of Columbus, Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 24 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amounts of $588,121.46 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for embezzling HUD program funds Read More

STATESVILLE, N.C. B Roger Dean Bailey, Jr., 41, or Hickory, N.C. was sentenced to 30 months in prison today for his role in a mortgage and consumer fraud conspiracy involving manufactured and modular homes, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. Read More

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Shola Risikat Balogun, age 48, of Upper Marlboro, today to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that she organized and Read More

WASHINGTON –   Edward Dacy, 76, of West Melbourne, Fla., and A. Conrad Austin, 49, of Bowie, Md., have been indicted on conspiracy, bank fraud, and other federal charges stemming from a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme in which they are accused of assisting their co- Read More

A former city of Dallas employee who admitted to hindering a federal investigation and trading housing for sex, among other things, will spend 15 months behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office this morning. Lawrence Hart has also been ordered to pay back $8,619. From 2012 until last Read More

TRENTON — Four more New Jersey residents were accused today of lying on applications for federal relief funds in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy to obtain more than $161,000, state authorities said, bringing the total number of those charged since March to a dozen. Mary Conlin, 51, of West Read More

LAFAYETTE — A former employee of the Opelousas Housing Authority was sentenced to two years of probation Friday in a federal investigation of bid-rigging that also snagged the former director and a local contractor. Garnette L. Thomas, 76, the Housing Authority’s former grant and capital funds Read More

The White Mountain Apache Housing Authority misspent millions of federal dollars on entertainment, gift certificates and other improper items, and is so badly managed it should be considered for receivership, according to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development audit released this week Read More

U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Mexico Press Release ALBUQUERQUE—Two men from Gallup, N.M., pleaded guilty today to federal charges arising out of a scheme to defraud the United States and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of more than $100,000. The guilty pleas Read More

Jonathan Pinson, once chairman of the board of S.C. State University and a high-flying businessman known for multi-million-dollar development projects, was given a new label Thursday by a federal jury: racketeer. The jury found the Greenville businessman guilty on 29 of 45 felony counts and Read More

U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Louisiana Press Release United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. announced that STACEY JACKSON, age 47, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon to conspiracy to steal federal Read More

  Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations Topic: “Evaluating Public Housing in the U.S.: Reigning in Waste, Fraud, Abuse and Mismanagement at Public Housing Authorities."  

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Investigation of HUD Lobbying Activities February 26, 2014 - 10:00 a.m., Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2128

This is a USAO District of Maryland Press Release Greenbelt, Maryland – Mokorya Cosmas Wambura, age 45, of Takoma Park, Maryland pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft arising from two separate residential mortgage fraud schemes. The plea agreement Read More