The Tallahassee Housing Authority was forced to use reserve funds to ensure clients received Section 8 vouchers after discovering an employee allegedly funneled $378,000 to line her own pockets.
Lekishaann Huggins, 45, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 39 counts varying from bank fraud, identity theft, money laundering and false tax filings, U.S. Attorney Jack Heekin of the Northern District of Florida announced in a July 30 press release.
Huggins managed THA’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, or Section 8 housing, intended to help low-income families, older adults and people with disabilities afford private housing through funds provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Federal court documents said Huggins redirected funds coming to THA to her personal business accounts for two years to bankroll her lavish lifestyle, including designer purses, clothes, vacations and a Christmas party that was prepared by a celebrity chef.
Christic Henry, who chairs the Authority’s Board of Directors, said it’s necessary to be transparent with the community in regards to the fraudulent allegations and the organization’s recent decision to stop issuing a significant number of Housing Choice Vouchers due to federal funding restrictions.
“People saw the story about the voucher situation and how we’re not able to reissue (some) vouchers. We’re limited based on our status,” said Henry, in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat.
Less money for vouchers compared to previous years also meant more people would be on the waiting list.
When the Authority stated it was going to give 1,700 vouchers, Henry said “they were still on the hook to do what they said they were going to do in terms of those vouchers,” despite the alleged fraudulent activity. “That would not have impacted service delivery.”
Henry also said the Authority hasn’t depleted its reserves but deferred questions about the specifics to Tamara Berry-Andrews, the Authority’s new executive director who was hired in March when her predecessor, Brenda Williams, retired.
Berry-Andrews did not respond to inquiries from the Democrat.
Henry did say the new director is revamping the Authority’s operations with a “compliance lens” and addressing issues at the administrative level and retraining the staff in light of less money coming from the federal level for its local needs.
Huggins allegedly “stealing the money cannot impact our service delivery. It would have had to been covered in another way … so that we would not have been impeded in our ability to fund the vouchers,” she said.
At least one elected official is turning the case into a political flash point, however. Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe, now running for a second term, said it’s unacceptable and that “money should have gone to families who need it.”
“This is exactly why I became a CPA and auditor. What jumps out isn’t the dollar amount – it’s that one employee allegedly could change a landlord’s payment information and approve it, with no one required to check their work,” O’Keefe said in a Facebook post on his campaign page.
“A basic two-person check could have easily prevented this. That’s not a technical nitpick. It’s the difference between money reaching the people it’s meant for and money disappearing.”
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Official: Alleged fraud made THA tap reserve funds to cover vouchers
Reporting by TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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By TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
