Rosa A. Famania, Embezzlement, Massachusetts 2015

Rosa A. Famania, a 33-year-old Milford woman and former accounting assistant for the Framingham Housing Authority (FHA), pleaded guilty today to embezzling $70,649 in tenant rent payments. The theft occurred between February 2014 and August 2015, during which Famania systematically siphoned cash from one of the region’s most vulnerable housing programs.

Famania was responsible for collecting cash rent from tenants, logging payments in the FHA’s electronic system, securing the funds in a locked box, and depositing them into the agency’s bank account. Instead, she pocketed approximately 181 cash payments and manipulated the accounting software to erase tenant debt, making it appear as if the rents had been paid.

The scam unraveled in August 2015 when FHA suspended Famania amid an internal audit that flagged missing deposits. She resigned days later. Investigators uncovered that from July 2014 to July 2015, $55,100 in stolen cash was deposited into a personal account held by Famania. Earlier, between February and July 2014, she funneled $17,900 via 19 U.S. Postal Service money orders into another personal account.

Famania pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston to one count of embezzling money from an agency receiving federal funds—a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and full restitution. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for March 14, 2017.

The Framingham Housing Authority, which manages subsidized housing and relies on federal funding, suffered both financial and reputational damage from the breach. At the time of the thefts, the agency was entrusted with ensuring low-income tenants had stable housing—money that was meant for maintenance, operations, and community safety.

The case was jointly announced by United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; Shelly Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Framingham Police Chief Kenneth Ferguson; and FHA Executive Director Stephen G. Keane. Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Bloomer of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit is prosecuting the case.