LAWFUEL – MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, ROSE GILL HEARN, Commissioner of
the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), and
KENNETH DONOHUE, Inspector General of the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), announced
the arrest today of ANNIE PUTMAN, an employee of the City
University of New York (“CUNY”), for defrauding the New York City
Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) of over $24,000 in housing subsidies.
NYCHA operates public housing facilities throughout the
City of New York, for which HUD is the primary source of funding.
To be eligible to reside in public housing, tenants must satisfy
certain criteria, including having incomes within or below a
stated range.
Public housing tenants are eligible for reduced
rent based on income and ability to pay. Because the rental
income from pubic housing tenants does not meet NYCHA’s operating
costs, HUD subsidies cover the shortfall. Tenants must submit
income information every year to establish their continued
eligibility to participate in the program, and to determine their
actual rent.
According to the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal
court, PUTMAN fraudulently received over $24,000 in housing
subsidies from July 1997 through March 2006 by under-reporting
her income to NYCHA. PUTMAN also failed to report to that she
maintained alternative residences outside of New York City.
PUTMAN is charged with one count of theft of government
funds and one count of making false statements to the government.
She was presented earlier today before Magistrate Judge MICHAEL
H. DOLINGER and was released on her own recognizance. If
convicted, PUTMAN faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative efforts of DOI’s
Office of the Inspector General for NYCHA, and thanked HUD for
its assistance in the case. Assistant United States Attorney
CHRISTIAN R. EVERDELL is in charge of this prosecution.
07-248 ###
