Fraud Charges on Section 8 Programs
HUD's Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program supplies a large portion of the nation's low-income housing. HUD issues more than 45,000 Section 8 vouchers to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) alone. Like many housing agencies across the nation, HACLA's Section 8 waiting list remains closed, as of 2010, because demand for rental subsidies outstrips supply. This disparity between need and available resources prompts some to cheat the system.
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Context
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Congress funds HUD's Section 8 program. Taxpayer money makes Section 8 subsidies possible. The vouchers cover the segment of a low-income family's private market rent that surpasses 30 to 40 percent of its monthly household earnings. HUD accepts applications only from families who make considerably less than their area's median income. HUD bases program eligibility, the size of the subsidy and the type of unit a family can rent not only on income, but on household size and composition. If an applicant lies about either at any point in the process, he commits one example of Section 8 fraud.
Financial Punishment
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Households that commit Section 8 fraud will likely face an immediate financial consequence--the loss of Section 8 benefits. In addition, Section 8 fraud may prevent a household from receiving other types of public assistance in the future. Often, households that perpetrate Section 8 fraud must pay back the money they effectively stole. Convictions of Section 8 fraud can trigger fines of up to $250,000, particularly for serious offenses such as theft of public money, according to a press release from the Portland office of the FBI.
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Prison Time
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Serious Section 8 fraud offenses often carry prison sentences. The above-mentioned theft of public money offense can result in up to 10 years in prison, while making a false statement to a federal agent can bring about up to five years in prison. Investigators can seek convictions on these charges for several types of Section 8 fraud, including owning property while receiving Section 8 assistance, lying about income and assets and lying about who does or does not live in a household.
Example
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In July of 2010, the Portland FBI announced that it had brought indictments again three people for Section 8 fraud. One party allegedly owned a portion of a housing unit he lived in while using a Section 8 voucher to help pay the rent. Two others failed to report income and gave inaccurate information about the amount of time a particular family member spent living in their home. These parties face assorted counts of theft of public money and providing false statements to federal agents.
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References
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Comments
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I just think that the ct sec 8 offices should be investigated because they give sec * to who they want to give it to and that's not right when my family and I have to keep going through housing crisis and it just real crazy. The laws are not for the people anymore they are mad just for the system.
