A Brooklyn woman allegedly used spoofed documents to cheat the system and get state-funded affordable housing, according to authorities.
Adina Hodges, 37, was arrested and charged on Wednesday with offering a false instrument for filing and perjury for submitting false information about her income and employment status to a Brooklyn affordable housing management company, according to the New York City Department of Investigation.
Hodges allegedly sent in a “reaffirmation of income” form on July 2, 2021, attesting that a “tenant income certification” form she had previously submitted to the company — an agent for the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal — was authentic, officials said.
An investigation revealed that her reaffirmation was “materially false” and that Hodges allegedly submitted fraudulent bank records, pay stubs, and an employment verification letter to secure her new digs, the DOI said in a press release.
Hodges contacted another alleged fraudster, Rodney Billings, via email about how to obtain the fake records, then paid him for them, prosecutors alleged.
Billings, of the Bronx, was hit with a slew of charges last June for allegedly creating and selling forged financial documents to two people, including an undercover DOI investigator posing as a customer.
His bust prompted an investigation into Hodges, officials said.
“According to the charges, this defendant allegedly used false information to apply for and receive affordable housing. Affordable housing is a scarce resource that is compromised when it is exploited by fraud,” Nadia I. Shihata, the Commissioner of the DOI, said in a statement.
“I am committed to protecting the integrity of affordable housing and ensuring that this resource is available to those who qualify for it. I thank District Attorney Gonzalez for his partnership in this important work,” Shihata said.
Hodges was arraigned on Wednesday and released without bail. She is slated to return to court on October 8.
If convicted, Hodges faces a sentence of up to four years behind bars.
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