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Jackson, Miss. – Kayla Paul Lindsey, 48, of Rankin County, Mississippi, entered a guilty plea today in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to make false statements to defraud the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Harold Brittain.
Lindsey is a former Certified Public Accountant who has been practicing in the Jackson area. Her co-conspirator, Marlene Solomon Williams, also of Rankin County, previously entered a guilty plea to the conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing.
The investigation in this case revealed that Lindsey and Williams administered a grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas that was intended to provide home repairs for low- to moderate-income households. In pleading guilty, Lindsey and Williams admitted they hired contractors to perform repairs under the grant, and instructed the contractors to inflate their invoices by 20%, which was kicked back to Lindsey and Williams. The fraudulently inflated invoices were submitted to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas through its local member institution, Trustmark Bank. Lindsey and Williams were paid over $186,000 in kickbacks generated by the fraudulent invoices during the course of the conspiracy.
“Today’s guilty plea is evidence that those who choose to participate in fraudulent schemes in an effort to steal from grant programs intended to help homeowners will be brought to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy Mowery with the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General. “The FHFA OIG, together with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously investigate allegations of fraud and will ensure that those who engage in such acts will be held accountable.”
Lindsey will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee on June 29, 2017, and she faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Both defendants will be required to repay all of the illegal proceeds as mandatory restitution in this case.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dave Fulcher. It was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDA Office of Inspector General, and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.