Tag: HUD
Eric Shepherd, Conspiracy to Commit Theft from a Program Receiving Federal Funds, South Dakota 2026
⏱ 2 min read Eric Shepherd, 53, and Olivia Locke, 60, former top officials at the Sisseton Wahpeton Housing Authority (SWHA) in South Dakota, have admitted to embezzling over $3.5 million in federal funds. The duo, who held positions of trust as executive director and chief financial officer, abused their power to issue and cash…
Lekishaann Huggins, Bank Fraud, Florida 2026
⏱ 2 min read Lekishaann Huggins, a 45-year-old Tallahassee woman, has been indicted for defrauding the Tallahassee Housing Authority of $378,000. The alleged scam, which involved 39 counts of bank fraud, took place in Tallahassee, Florida. Huggins appeared in federal court for her arraignment and is scheduled for a jury trial on September 8, 2026.…
Ashley Nicole Lear, Wire Fraud, Kentucky 2023
⏱ 2 min read Ashley Nicole Lear, the former Executive Director of Stanford Housing Authority in Kentucky, has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for engaging in wire fraud and misusing federal funds. From July 2023 to March 2025, Lear, 43, paid herself unauthorized bonuses and inflated her salary, despite her contracted salary being…
Debbie Norris Woodell, Federal Program Theft, North Carolina 2016
⏱ 2 min read Debbie Norris Woodell, the 64-year-old former director of the Dunn Housing Authority in North Carolina, has been sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for conspiring to commit federal program theft. Between 2016 and 2021, Woodell exploited her position to steal over $200,000 from the agency, which provides affordable housing to…
Tracy Jones, Housing Assistance and Pandemic Relief Fraud, Georgia 2017
⏱ 2 min read Tracy Jones, a former Senior Vice President at the Atlanta Housing Authority, has been sentenced to prison for orchestrating a scheme to defraud the Section 8 housing assistance program and pandemic relief funds in Atlanta, GA. From April 2017 to the time of her guilty plea, Jones exploited her position to…
Selene Varela, Theft Concerning a Program Receiving Federal Funds, Texas 2026
⏱ 2 min read Selene Varela, a 41-year-old Amarillo woman, embezzled thousands of dollars from a federal program intended to provide relief during the COVID pandemic. Varela, who worked for the City of Amarillo in the Community Development Department, pleaded guilty on May 11, 2026, to a felony information charging Theft Concerning a Program Receiving…
Housing Chief, Embezzlement, California 2020
⏱ 3 min read A housing chief in rural Louisiana allegedly made off with millions meant for the poor. Kelsi McDaniel, 29, swiped funds from the East Carroll Parish Housing Authority, where she served as executive director. According to court documents, McDaniel embezzled from the agency between 2018 and 2022, siphoning off hundreds of thousands…
Nehemie Almonor, Wire Fraud, Virginia 2022
⏱ 2 min read Nehemie Almonor, a 41-year-old woman from King George, Virginia, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for submitting timecards for the same hours at multiple government jobs. From May 2022 to at least April 2025, Almonor electronically submitted timecards certifying that she had performed full-time work during overlapping hours for multiple entities, including…
