The the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the City of Muncie's (City) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (Program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2007 annual audit plan. We selected the City based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to Program grantees in Region V's jurisdiction. Our objectives were to determine whether the City…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority's (Authority) 5(h) homeownership program (program). We selected the Authority based on a risk analysis showing that it may have improperly used program funds. Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority properly accounted for and used its program's proceeds in accordance with…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Authority of the City of Michigan City's (Authority) nonprofit development activities. The review of public housing authorities' development activities is set forth in our annual audit plan. We selected the Authority because it was identified as having high-risk indicators of nonprofit development activity. Our objective was to determine…

CLEVELAND – Basheer Jones, 40, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been sentenced to 28 months in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese, after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud by using his role as a public official for personal financial gain by seeking to defraud multiple community stakeholders out of more than $200,000. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment…

CLEVELAND – Basheer Jones, 40, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been charged in a two-count information with conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud for using his role as a public official for personal financial gain by seeking to defraud multiple community stakeholders out of more than $200,000. He previously served as an elected Cleveland city council member representing Ward 7.According to court documents, from about December 2018 to…

CINCINNATI – The former executive director of the Clermont Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to federal program theft.Timothy Holland, 57, of Williamsburg, Ohio, admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars intended to assist low-income residents of Clermont County, Ohio.According to court documents, Holland served from 2012 until 2019 as the executive director for CMHA, the United States…

NEW ALBANY—Willie D. Watts, 42, of Clarksville, has been sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to theft of federal benefits from the Section 8 Housing Voucher, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, and Social Security programs.According to court documents, from 2014 to 2021, Ms. Watts received benefits from four different federal programs intended to benefit…

The Justice Department announced today that Kevin Martin, an owner and manager of residential rental properties in and around Athens, Ohio, has agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed female tenants and housing applicants in violation of the Fair Housing Act.The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges that, from at least 2010 to at least 2020, Martin requested…

SOUTH BEND – Albert Smith, 47 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after being found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of federal program theft on November 1, 2023, following an eight-day jury trial, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.Smith was sentenced…

SOUTH BEND – Tonya Robinson, 61 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after being found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of federal program theft on November 1, 2023, following an eight-day jury trial, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.Robinson was…

INDIANAPOLIS- The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) hosted a roundtable today, April 19th, 2024, for community organizations to discuss the problem of sexual harassment in housing.The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched the Sexual Harassment in…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man who estimated he filed more than 3,000 fraudulent COVID-relief applications was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 72 months in prison.The fraud scheme perpetuated by Ousmane Diane, 24, caused a loss of more than $908,000. He submitted applications for more than $2 million in funding.Diane pleaded guilty in October 2023 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.According to court documents, Diane used the…