STAFF REPORTS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Pernell Jackson, 56, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of making materially false statements in a matter involving the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who handled the case, stated that between 2009 and 2014, Jackson resided in an apartment complex in Greece, NY and received a rent reduction through an income-based HUD subsidy program. During that time period, the defendant knowingly falsified HUD income certification forms by failing to report that he had obtained VA benefits belonging to his deceased aunt, totaling $102,622.76. The investigation revealed that the VA continued to make regular payments into Jackson’s aunt’s bank account for approximately seven years following her death. The defendant, who had access to the account, regularly withdrew the money between 2007 and 2015. The fraud was discovered during a VA audit, which led to an investigation by VA and HUD Offices of the Inspector General.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Sean J. Smith, Northeast Field Office, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Brad Geary.
