A brazen scheme to line his own pockets has landed a former Wilmington Housing Authority employee behind bars. Damien Piper, 34, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for embezzling over $179,000 from the Wilmington Housing Authority.
The embezzlement began in February 2012 and continued until October 2014, when Piper, an Assistant Site Manager at the Crestview Apartments, started altering money orders meant for the Housing Authority to make them payable to himself. He deposited the money orders into bank accounts he controlled and cashed some at check cashing businesses.
Piper’s scheme involved altering the Housing Authority’s computerized records to conceal the converted payments as ‘adjustments.’ These altered records indicated that less rent was due from the residents, but in reality, Piper collected the full amount of rent from the residents and kept the ‘adjustment’ amount for himself.
Over the course of the embezzlement, Piper took more than 700 money orders, netting him at least $179,000. The scheme had a devastating impact on the Housing Authority, damaging its reputation and causing financial losses.
U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III, praised the efforts of those involved in bringing the case to a successful conclusion, saying, ‘The theft of money from those who pay rent to the Wilmington Housing Authority is particularly despicable.’
The case was the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Paxton prosecuted the case.
Piper pleaded guilty to Theft of Public Funds in October 2015. The sentencing was carried out by the Honorable Gregory M. Sleet, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware.
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Key Facts
- State: Delaware
- Category: Public Corruption|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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