Melissa Beltre, of South Hempstead, charged with fraudulently taking over $22G in rental aid from Nassau County
Nassau District Attorney Ann Donnelly Credit: Howard Schnapp
A South Hempstead woman was charged this week with grand larceny, welfare fraud and related offenses after, Nassau County prosecutors said, she falsely claimed and received more than $22,000 in rental assistance from the county.
According to charging documents and prosecutors, Melissa Beltre, 42, received $22,476 in benefits between January 2019 and October 2021 from Nassau's Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8, declaring weekly incomes ranging from $700 to $1,400.
But she did not report roughly $85,000 in income from jobs as manager or controller at several Long Island auto dealerships, or assets in a 401(k) account that grew from $9,304 to $43,230 between late 2018 and late 2021. She also did not report the April 2021 purchase of a $585,000 house until October 2021, according to charging documents.
“Home ownership disqualifies an individual from participating in the rental assistance program,” said Nicole Turso, a spokeswoman for Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly, in an email.
Based on Beltre’s financial records and mortgage documents, according to a release from Donnelly's office, she would not have qualified for the benefits she received from 2019 through 2021.
Beltre pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Thursday in Nassau District Court in Mineola and was released on her own recognizance, according to court records. She is scheduled to make her next court appearance Wednesday.
Beltre did not respond to a call seeking comment. But Michael DerGarabedian, the Rockville Centre lawyer representing her, said in a phone interview that a person guilty of the offenses alleged by prosecutors “doesn’t stick around for years, waiting to get caught.” DerGarabedian said, although he'd not yet seen the evidence against his client, he “always questions the case when an arrest is made five years after the alleged instance.”
Turso, in her email, said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development referred the case to Donnelly's office in 2021. “The charges are the result of an extensive investigation, involving multiple records requests,” she said.
HUD Office of Inspector General spokeswoman Dwrena Allen declined to comment directly on the case, but said that, in general, the office considers rental assistance fraud to be one of most common types of fraud involving HUD-assisted housing programs.
Beltre faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, according to the release.
“Rental assistance benefits are essential to thousands of low-income families, elderly, and disabled citizens in Nassau County to ensure they can afford to live in safe and sanitary housing,” said Donnelly. “This defendant allegedly submitted false paperwork to obtain those benefits for herself.”
A South Hempstead woman was charged this week with grand larceny, welfare fraud and related offenses after, Nassau County prosecutors said, she falsely claimed and received more than $22,000 in rental assistance from the county.
According to charging documents and prosecutors, Melissa Beltre, 42, received $22,476 in benefits between January 2019 and October 2021 from Nassau's Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8, declaring weekly incomes ranging from $700 to $1,400.
But she did not report roughly $85,000 in income from jobs as manager or controller at several Long Island auto dealerships, or assets in a 401(k) account that grew from $9,304 to $43,230 between late 2018 and late 2021. She also did not report the April 2021 purchase of a $585,000 house until October 2021, according to charging documents.
“Home ownership disqualifies an individual from participating in the rental assistance program,” said Nicole Turso, a spokeswoman for Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly, in an email.
Based on Beltre’s financial records and mortgage documents, according to a release from Donnelly's office, she would not have qualified for the benefits she received from 2019 through 2021.
Beltre pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Thursday in Nassau District Court in Mineola and was released on her own recognizance, according to court records. She is scheduled to make her next court appearance Wednesday.
Beltre did not respond to a call seeking comment. But Michael DerGarabedian, the Rockville Centre lawyer representing her, said in a phone interview that a person guilty of the offenses alleged by prosecutors “doesn’t stick around for years, waiting to get caught.” DerGarabedian said, although he'd not yet seen the evidence against his client, he “always questions the case when an arrest is made five years after the alleged instance.”
Turso, in her email, said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development referred the case to Donnelly's office in 2021. “The charges are the result of an extensive investigation, involving multiple records requests,” she said.
HUD Office of Inspector General spokeswoman Dwrena Allen declined to comment directly on the case, but said that, in general, the office considers rental assistance fraud to be one of most common types of fraud involving HUD-assisted housing programs.
Beltre faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, according to the release.
“Rental assistance benefits are essential to thousands of low-income families, elderly, and disabled citizens in Nassau County to ensure they can afford to live in safe and sanitary housing,” said Donnelly. “This defendant allegedly submitted false paperwork to obtain those benefits for herself.”
