Former Fairfield Housing Authority Executive Director Who Embezzled $30k Is Sentenced

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ELIZABETH JO GUTIERREZ, 47, of Ridgefield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to five years of probation, the first six months of which GUTIERREZ must spend in home confinement under electronic monitoring, for embezzling $30,000 from the Fairfield Housing Authority. 

The Fairfield Housing Authority administers federal housing programs for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with the mission of providing affordable housing for eligible low-income families and the elderly.

According to court documents and statements made in court, GUTIERREZ served as the Executive Director for the Fairfield Housing Authority from approximately July 2010 to December 2011.  In the summer of 2011, GUTIERREZ issued two checks, each in the amount of $15,000, from the Fairfield Housing Authority’s checking account and subsequently deposited them into her own checking account.

On June 4, 2013, GUTIERREZ pleaded guilty to one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds.

GUTIERREZ was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $30,000.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Beaty.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov