DETROIT – United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Dawn N. Ison and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis hosted two summits yesterday focused on promoting the health, safety, and civil rights of tenants living in HUD-assisted housing. The program focused on combatting sexual misconduct and eliminating environmental hazards in HUD-assisted housing.The summits, which took place at…

Kelly Ballinger wrote her name on rent payments, altered renters’ incomes to steal fundsPORTLAND, Maine: A Glenburn woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to embezzling from an organization receiving federal funds and conspiring to alter money orders.According to court records, Kelly Ballinger, 57, was a former property manager for a Portland apartment complex with residences funded by the Department of Housing and Urban…

DETROIT – Zina Thomas, 60, of Detroit was charged in a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court for her role orchestrating a fraud scheme that stole houses from dozens of Detroit residents, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.Ison was joined in the announcement by Special Agent-in-Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent-in-Charge Machelle L. Jindra, Department of Housing and Urban…

DETROIT – Siemens Industry, Inc., a subsidiary of Siemens Corporation, has agreed to pay over $1 million to resolve possible False Claims Act violations, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.Ison was joined in the announcement by Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.Siemens Industry, Inc., on behalf of itself and predecessor entity Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. (Siemens…

BOSTON – A Maine woman pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing federal housing benefits from at least December 2004 through February 2020.  Rebecca Amelia Cranford, 63, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Aug. 17, 2023. Cranford was arrested and charged in September 2021.   In the early 2000s, Cranford was engaged by the owners of a…

PORTLAND, Maine: A Berwick woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for Social Security fraud and theft of public money. Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Andreanna Politano, 60, to three years of probation. She was also ordered to pay $49,976.38 in restitution to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and $9,164.00 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).…

DETROIT – Three family members of the former executive director of the St. Clair Housing Commission, Lorena Loren, were sentenced today to federal prison after having pleaded guilty to various federal offenses due to their involvement in Loren’s fraudulent scheme to steal money from the Section 8 program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced. Ison was joined in the…

DETROIT – Three family members of the former executive director of the St. Clair Housing Commission, Lorena Loren, were sentenced today to federal prison after having pleaded guilty to various federal offenses due to their involvement in Loren’s fraudulent scheme to steal money from the Section 8 program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced. Ison was joined in the…

DETROIT – Three family members of the former executive director of the St. Clair Housing Commission, Lorena Loren, pleaded guilty today to various federal offenses due to their involvement in Loren’s fraudulent scheme to steal money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced. Ison was joined in the announcement by Machelle L. Jindra, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S.…

PORTLAND, Maine: A Berwick woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to Social Security fraud and theft of public money, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced. According to court records, from about March 2009 to February 2020, Andreanna Politano, 59, concealed the presence of her husband in her household to maintain her eligibility to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. SSI benefits are paid…

GULFPORT, MI—Former Harrison County supervisor Kim Savant, 65, of Gulfport, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden today to sixty months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bribery, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, IRS—Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Jerome McDuffie and FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald Alway. Savant was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.…