Three convicted of stealing from CHA, including man who netted $365K

Three people have been convicted of stealing funds from the Chicago Housing Authority, including a man who stole from the agency for more than 20 years.

Arthur Dorsey Jr., 60, a Section 8 recipient in the CHA’s Housing Choice Voucher program, stole more than $365,000 between July 1993 and July 2016 by collecting housing assistance and Social Security benefits under two different identities, according to the CHA’s Office of the Inspector General.

Dorsey also misrepresented his relationship with the landlord of one of the subsidized addresses, which was actually owned by his mother, according to the IG.

Dorsey pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of government funds and was sentenced to 78 months in prison. He previously served sentences for murder, attempted murder and escaping from a penal institution, the IG said.

Cassandra Evans, 41, a property manager for Eastlake Management, which oversees the Lowden Homes property in the Princeton Park neighborhood on the Far South Side, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds, according to the IG.

Her duties included collecting rent from Lowden tenants and depositing them into Eastlake’s bank account, which was then remitted to the CHA.

Between January 2016 and February 2016, Evans accepted rent payments from tenants, added her name as a payee without authorization, and deposited the money into her own bank account, according to the IG. She then spent the money on personal items.

Evans was sentenced to 24 months of probation and 30 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $8,922 in restitution to the CHA.

Howard Headd, 78, of Chicago pleaded guilty to one count of continuing a financial crimes enterprise for his involvement in a fraud scheme with his wife, Doris Bell, a former voucher recipient in the CHA’s Housing Choice Voucher program, according to the IG.

Between 2000 and July 2015, Bell received benefits from both the CHA and Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services by concealing income and assets through the use of a second Social Security number, according to the IG. The benefits totaled more than $140,000. Additionally, Bell submitted fraudulent documents to the CHA that allowed her to collect housing assistance payments while residing in a house she owned.

Headd, her husband, was charged as a co-defendant for signing fraudulent documents to the CHA to conceal Bell’s ownership in the property. He was sentenced to 24 months of probation.

Bell pleaded guilty to continuing a financial crimes enterprise and theft, and was sentenced earlier this year to 30 months of probation, according to the IG. She was also ordered to make monthly restitution payments totaling $6,800 to the CHA, and $1,700 to the DHFS.