Former Manager of Colony Arms Apartment Complex Pleads Guilty to Bribery for Seeking Bribes from the Poor

Lucresha Frank, 41, of Pontiac, a former manager of the Colony Arms apartments in Detroit, pleaded guilty to bribery, United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced today.

Schneider was joined in the announcement by Brad Geary, Special Agent in Charge, Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General and Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In 2013, Frank worked as a manager of the Colony Arms apartments, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded Section 8 housing facility.  Frank admitted during her guilty plea that she solicited and accepted cash bribes from prospective tenants in exchange for improperly moving them up on a lengthy waiting list for an apartment.  One of the cash bribes she took was from a woman who was then homeless and living in a shelter with her two small children.

“Bribery by those entrusted to provide federally-funded housing to the economically disadvantaged is an atrocity that cannot stand.  It is not only a breach of the public trust, it takes advantage of those who are at their financial low point and who are desperate for shelter for themselves and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.  “As such, this criminal conduct will be uncovered and prosecuted to the fullest extent allowed by federal law.” 

“Lucresha Frank’s illegal actions, motivated by her own greed, devastated families experiencing financial distress and prevented those in desperate need from being able to access low cost housing,” said Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain fully committed to investigating and prosecuting anyone who seeks to take advantage of those in our communities through such devious criminal schemes.” 

Frank is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2018 before U.S. District Judge Terrence G. Berg.  She faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. 

The investigation of this case was conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Michael Bullotta.