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Houston housing official sentenced for diverting $8.5M in public funds
Todd Edwards was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering and theft tied to misdirected affordable housing money.
A former Midtown Redevelopment Authority official in Houston, Todd Edwards, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a scheme that redirected $8.5 million intended for affordable housing and slowing gentrification in the Third Ward, according to Bisnow, citing the Houston Chronicle.
Bisnow reports that Edwards pleaded guilty in April to money laundering and theft for diverting the funds between 2011 and 2021, with prosecutors alleging the money was spent on purchases including expensive cars, luxury vacations, and pornography.
The outlet adds that prosecutors showed payments were made to companies Edwards owned and to two other companies owned by associates, for work that was never completed.
Bisnow also notes that Kenneth Jones of KCK Demolition and Landscaping and Veronica Ugorji of Cortez Landscaping, who were contracted to mow vacant Midtown lots, were charged in the same scheme.