Press Release
DIRECTOR OF HOUSING AT NOAH DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND FIANCEE CHARGED WITH HOUSING FRAUD
May 20, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Timothy A. Mowery, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General for Investigations, and Ric L. Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, announced the May 19, 2009 arrest of defendants George Kinsler, III, 55, former Director of Housing at NOAH Development Corporation in Belle Glade, and his fiancee Sheneiris Harris, 32, both of Pahokee, FL. Kinsler and Harris were charged in a criminal complaint with theft of public funds for taking HUD hurricane relief rental assistance payments to which they were not entitled, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. Kinsler and Harris made their initial appearances in federal court today before Magistrate Judge Ann E. Vitunac. The Court set bond for both defendants.
The complaint alleges that from March 2007 to March 2009, Kinsler and Harris lived together in Pahokee, FL, in a home owned by Kinsler and subsidized under a hurricane relief rental assistance program. The hurricane relief program, which is managed by the West Palm Beach Housing Authority and funded by HUD, was implemented to allow low income families who suffered hurricane-related damage to receive rental assistance for two years.
In March 2007, Harris, applied for and received rental assistance for the house that she shared with Kinsler. To qualify for this program, Harris was required to notify HUD of all individuals residing in the property and all income received by those individuals. Harris, however, did not inform HUD that Kinsler was residing with her, and his income was not considered in determining the amount of the subsidy. Kinsler, as the owner of the property, submitted separate documentation to HUD identifying himself as the landlord of the subsidized unit. In this way, Kinsler was not only an undisclosed tenant, but also benefitted by receiving HUD monies for Harris' rent. According to the complaint, Kinsler and Harris' housing fraud scheme resulted in approximately $25,000 in fraudulent payments from HUD.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Subsidized Housing Investigations Initiative, a partnership between the HUD Office of the Inspector General and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaniek Maynard.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Technical comments about this website can be e-mailed to the Webmaster. PLEASE NOTE: The United States Attorney's Office does not respond to non-technical inquiries made to this website. If you wish to make a request for information, you may contact our office at 305-961-9001, or you may send a written inquiry to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida, 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, Fl. 33132.