Former Newark Cop Jailed for Section 8 Fraud Scheme

A former police officer of Newark, N.J., was recently sentenced to three months in prison, after he admitted conspiring to cheat taxpayers out of $60,000 in federal rent subsidies his wife received despite living with him rent-free in a house he owned.

The former officer pleaded guilty, admitting to a single count of conspiring to fraudulently obtain so-called Section 8 vouchers from HUD, for five years ending in 2011. He had been facing a maximum of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines before being sentenced yesterday. In addition to the three months behind bars, the judge sentenced him to two years of supervised release, and ordered him to repay the $60,000. No fine was imposed.

His wife applied for and received Section 8 money from September 2006 through December 2011. During most of that time, however, the couple lived together in a multifamily house in Newark owned by the former officer, something they agreed not to tell the Newark Housing Authority, which administers the Section 8 program locally. The former officer resigned as a Newark cop under his plea deal, and now runs a local courier service.