Pulaski County officials said Wednesday they are investigating accusations that former Community Services department employees “engaged in fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and waste and abuse in administering” a housing voucher program.
The officials notified the office of Prosecuting Attorney Will Jones, whose 6th Judicial District includes Pulaski and Perry counties, as well as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the HUD Little Rock field office director, the HUD Office of Inspector General and the Arkansas attorney general’s office.
County government staff opened the internal investigation “to cease any fraudulent expenditure of funds and mitigate further damages,” according to letters dated Wednesday from Barry Hyde, the county judge of Pulaski County, and sent to local, state and federal officials.
“Pulaski County staff is continuing an internal review of files, cross-referencing databases, reviewing payment ledgers, notifying persons whose names are associated with the allegations, and notifying property owners in [an] effort to determine the extent of the fraud that includes false representation of fact, making false statements, and/or concealment of information in furtherance of the fraud,” Hyde wrote in the letters.
At issue is the administering of the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8. The program helps low-income families, the elderly and the disabled pay the rent in apartments or houses.
Pulaski County Community Services is the department within the county government that administers the program at the local level.
In the letters, Hyde asked local, state and federal officials to guide and assist the county.
“The County feels that your office would be better equipped to look into this matter given your office has an investigatory division with experience in this area,” he wrote to the prosecutor, state attorney general and HUD officials.
According to Hyde’s letters, Pulaski County Community Services Director Fredrick Love, who also represents parts of Little Rock and Pulaski County as a Democratic senator in the state Legislature, notified Anthony S. Landecker, field office director for HUD, on July 26. Landecker referred Love to the Office of Inspector General, where he spoke with a representative and initiated an official online request for assistance.
On Tuesday, Love spoke with Jones, the prosecuting attorney, and requested assistance with an investigation. Jones referred him to Ryan Cooper, deputy attorney general, Investigative Division, according to the letters.
“Mr. Cooper indicated he would speak with his division chief and follow up with Director Love on how to proceed,” Hyde wrote in his letters to various officials.
This story has been updated. It was originally published at 7:52 p.m. under the headline "Pulaski County reports accusations that ex-employees defrauded housing voucher program."