Allege School Staff Ripped Off $100G In Housing Aid

Two Department of Education employees were arrested Nov. 6 for collecting more than $100,000 in Section 8 housing subsidies, in two separate cases, after a joint inquiry by the city Department of Investigation and the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Betty Hidalgo, a DOE employee since 1994 and currently a Paraprofessional at P.S. M721 in Manhattan, allegedly fraudulently obtained $81,632 in rent subsidies between 2005 and August 2008. She concealed her entire $33,087 salary from the city Housing Development Corporation for four years while living in a Section 8-subsidized apartment in Manhattan.

Inflated Household

In addition, Ms. Hidalgo also stated that her household consisted of five individuals — herself, her husband, her daughter and two grandchildren. Neither her daughter nor her grandchildren ever resided in the household.

Linda Perez, a Teacher since 2000, most recently at P.S. 157 in The Bronx, allegedly obtained rent subsidies totaling $19,716 between September 2006 and December 2007. Ms. Perez made between $42,000 and $59,000 until her employment was terminated in October 2007, but while living in a Section 8-subsidized apartment in The Bronx, she claimed that she made $7,800 a year.

DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said that the cases were part of the DOI's ongoing battle to make sure that city employees receiving Section 8 subsidies accurately report their income. Investigators compare the employee's reports of income to HDC with the income records maintained in the city's Payroll Management System.

"Every city employee should know better than to falsify an income statement to obtain housing benefits. It's not only wrong but foolish, because we compare those statements with city payroll and find the discrepancies," said Ms. Hearn.

The investigation was conducted by the DOI's HDC Inspector General Joseph P. Piazza, Special Counsel Catherine Riccards and Chief Investigator Belarminia Ortiz. Daniel Chung, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, will prosecute the case. If convicted, Ms. Hidalgo and Ms. Perez each face up to 10 years in Federal prison.