A Nashville couple, along with men from Enfield and Roanoke and two others, pleaded guilty today to defrauding a program designed to help North Carolina residents stay in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
49-year-old Joe Lewis Jefferson faces up to 31 years in prison.
Jefferson’s wife, Danyael Davis Jefferson, pleaded guilty in March for her role in the mail fraud plot.
Arraignment for Arkino Williams of Enfield is scheduled for Aug. 22 in Raleigh, while sentencing for Timothy Harvey of Roanoke Rapids, who pleaded guilty, is scheduled for Sept. 3, according to federal court records.
According to a statement today from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, information presented in court showed that Jefferson recruited other individuals to falsely pose as landlords of properties in eastern North Carolina.
On behalf of these sham landlords, Jefferson created and submitted fraudulent loan applications for emergency rental assistance to North Carolina Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions.
After the applications were approved, NC HOPE sent checks to addresses controlled by Jefferson.
Jefferson traveled with the nominated landlords to regional banks to negotiate the checks and divide the proceeds.
Jefferson and his co-conspirators were responsible for submitting at least 44 fraudulent applications for rental assistance, resulting in the disbursement of approximately $279,000.
The NC HOPE program administered federal COVID-19 relief funds and provided emergency rental assistance to North Carolina tenants at risk of eviction and homelessness during the pandemic.
The program allowed tenants to submit an online application for rental subsidies. If approved, the program paid the tenant’s rent for up to 15 months of past-due or future rental payments in the form of checks sent directly to the landlord.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers II accepted the guilty plea. Sentencing will take place later this year before U.S. District Judge James C. Dever II.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigations and the US Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby Lathan is prosecuting this case.
