CAMBRIDGE PARKING OFFICER CHARGED WITH HOUSING FRAUD
BOSTON, Mass. - A Cambridge parking officer was arrested today in connection with charges brought in federal court that she made false statements while receiving Section 8 housing benefits.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Diane Hill-Dechellis, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, announced that TRACY WEBSTER, 45, of Braintree was charged in a criminal complaint with making false statements while receiving Section 8 housing benefits.
The complaint affidavit alleges that from May 2005 through July 2008, WEBSTER received at least $34,692 in Section 8 benefits to which she was not entitled. The complaint further alleges that she lied about her employment as a parking clerk in the City of Cambridge and told the Cambridge Housing Authority, in required forms, that she earned no income. In fact, she was making approximately $40,000 a year.
If convicted on these charges, WEBSTER faces up to five years imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $ 250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.
The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
