FOX Business’ Darren Botelho reports as two men from Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to allegedly travelling to Minnesota to defraud the state Housing Stabilization Services program on ‘Varney & Co.’
Two men from Pennsylvania admitted to repeatedly traveling from Philadelphia to Minneapolis in an effort to defraud Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program, prosecutors announced. The men allegedly defrauded approximately $3.5 million from the program and used artificial intelligence to create false records.
The two men, identified as Anthony Waddell Jefferson, 37, and Lester Brown, 53, allegedly set up businesses in Minnesota and enrolled as HSS providers. The men were allegedly supposed to provide housing consulting, transitioning and sustaining services to qualifying individuals.
The state’s HSS program, which was officially launched in July 2020, aims to help people with disabilities, including seniors and those with mental illnesses or substance abuse issues, find and maintain housing. The Justice Department previously said the program “had low barriers to entry and minimal records requirements for reimbursement.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi reacted, “Criminal fraud not only robs taxpayers — it shatters trust in our institutions. Under President Trump’s leadership, today’s convictions are just the beginning. Our prosecutors will work tirelessly to unravel criminal fraud schemes and charge their perpetrators in Minnesota and across the country.”
TREASURY…
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