Former city of Marietta employees and landlords have been charged with Section 8 housing fraud, according to a news release from the United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.
Shantel Bowens, Debbie Bailey, and Babatunde "Babs" Abass have been sentenced for stealing funds from the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly referred to as Section 8, which provides rental assistance to low-income families, according to the release.
Bowens and Bailey worked for the City of Marietta's Housing Choice Voucher Program, overseeing tenant and landlord participation in the program. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides the program with over $4 million per year in Section 8 funding, according to the release.
Abass and a fourth defendant, Tunji "Chris" Imoukhuede were enrolled as landlords in the program.
In 2011, according to the release, Bowens began identifying former Section 8 tenants and reactivating their closed accounts. Bowens altered computer records to link these tenants to Abass and Imoukhuede. As a result, the two landlords began receiving fraudulent Section 8 payments.
Abass and Imoukhuede kept 40 percent of the funds, and withdrew the remaining 60 percent, giving the cash to Bailey who split it with Bowens, the release states.
The scheme took place between January 2011 and June 2013, and during this time the defendants obtained over $230,000. In addition, from January 2010 through June 2013, Bowens lived rent-free in Section 8 housing under false pretenses, which amounted to more than $40,000 in Section 8 funds, the release said.
Bowens, 43, of Atlanta, was sentenced to two years and two months in prison, which will be followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $275,871 in restitution. She was convicted of these charges after pleading guilty in May of this year.
Bailey, 41, of Rome, Ga., was sentenced to one year and two months in prison, which will be followed by three years of supervised release. She also pleaded guilty in May and was ordered to pay $234,977 in restitution.
Abass, 48, of Mableton, Ga., was sentenced to 10 months in prison, which will also be followed by three years of supervised release. He was convicted in June, after pleading guilty, and is ordered to pay $80,349 in restitution.
Imoukhuede was arraigned on Sept. 17.
This case was investigated by HUD, the City of Marietta, and the Marietta Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shanya J. Dingle prosecuted the case, according to the release.
"By stealing funds from the Section 8 program, these defendants deprived needy families of suitable, safe housing," Yates said in the release. "We will continue to aggressively prosecute government program fraud and criminals who steal from those most in need."