Jael Watts, 45, of Alloway, New Jersey, and Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Bogota, Colombia, were convicted by a jury of orchestrating a sweeping nationwide scheme to steal millions of dollars in federal program funds administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), designed to benefit elderly, disabled, and homeless Americans. First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Brian Gallagher, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. DOT – Office of Inspector General (“OIG”), Northeastern Region, and Shawn Rice, Special Agent-in-Charge, HUD-OIG, Northeast Region, made the announcement. This action is a part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice