Mathis Lemons, Bribery, Massachusetts 2016

BOSTON — In a shocking case of corruption, former Roxse Homes worker Mathis Lemons, 42, of Brockton, was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in a scheme to rent apartments at the housing development to individuals who were not qualified in exchange for cash bribes.

Lemons was the assistant property manager of Roxse Homes, a subsidized housing development in Boston. His co-defendant, Ismael Morales, pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced in August 2016 to two years in prison.

The scheme, which took place from September 2014 to February 2015, involved Lemons and Morales conspiring to rent apartments to individuals who were not eligible for subsidized Roxse Homes apartments. Morales solicited and accepted money from individuals, and provided those individuals with blank rental applications.

Lemons then added the unqualified individuals to the Roxse Homes computerized waitlist, and falsely inputted their application dates as 2006 or 2009. The Roxse Homes waitlist had been closed to external applicants since 2009.

As part of the scheme, Morales also instructed some of the individuals not to date their applications, or to date their applications in 2006 or 2009, when in fact the applications were completed in 2014.

Lemons was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture of $18,300. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristina E. Barclay and Eugenia M. Carris of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.

Lemons' brazen scheme was uncovered by a joint investigation involving the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, New York Regional Office, Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, Massachusetts Inspector General, and the Boston Police Department.

The case highlights the need for vigilance in ensuring that public housing programs are protected from corruption and abuse.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-roxse-homes-worker-sentenced-taking-bribes-0