Monday, May 17, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn—William J. Pollock, 50, of Knoxville, Tenn, pled guilty in United States District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee, today before the Honorable Leon Jordan, United States District Judge, to an information charging him with 12 counts of embezzling government funds.

On April 20, 2010, United States Attorney, James R. Dedrick, filed an information charging Pollock with 12 counts of embezzling federal funds while employed as the Assistant Executive Director for the Knox County Housing Authority ("KCHA"). According to court documents, from 2005 through 2008, Pollock, as part of his official responsibilities with KCHA, was provided access to the funds held in KCHA’s "Public Housing Account" located at Regions Bank. The funds in that account were entirely funded by the United States Treasury and were required to be used only for KCHA-related purposes. On twelve separate occasions from 2005 through 2008, Pollock embezzled amounts totaling more than $30,000 in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641.

Judge Jordan has scheduled Pollock's sentencing for September 21, 2010. Pollock could receive a sentence of up to 10 years in prision and a $250,000 fine for each count in the information. This investigation was conducted by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney F. M. (Trey) Hamilton III represented the United States.