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Georgia housing authority officials charged over alleged $2.5M fraud
Prosecutors allege the scheme ran from September 2019 to October 2023, including contract awards without standard bidding and repeated payments of $5,000 or less to avoid detection.
HousingWire reports that federal prosecutors have charged Melanie S. Thompson, the former executive director of Georgia’s Hinesville Housing Authority, and business partner Toriono L. Byrd over an alleged $2.5 million fraud scheme involving false invoices, kickbacks and fraudulent payments over roughly four years.
According to the 20-page indictment filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Thompson was indicted on July 8 on charges that include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and making false claims. Prosecutors allege Thompson used her position to award contracts to Byrd without following standard bidding procedures, despite Byrd operating a contractor that did business with the agency.
The indictment says Thompson created false invoices on her work computer, sometimes emailed them to herself, and authorized payments for work that was either never completed or far exceeded the value of services provided. It also alleges she directed repeated payments of $5,000 or less to avoid detection by others at the authority, while Byrd allegedly paid kickbacks from accounts he controlled.
Prosecutors further allege Thompson and Byrd were in a romantic relationship that was never disclosed to the Hinesville Housing Authority, which provides affordable housing and runs 128 public housing units and other rental assistance programs in Liberty County, Georgia. The alleged conduct also included the creation of Strategic Logistics Transportation Services LLC in September 2019 and purchases of two semi-trucks for nearly $30,000, along with additional “bonus” payments to Thompson’s Navy Federal Credit Union account totaling nearly $30,000, the outlet said.