Duo allegedly bilked low-income families seeking housing

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Two alleged con artists have been accused of bilking low-income Boston families by persuading them to turn over thousands of dollars in fees to win fictitious Section 8 vouchers.

One defendant, James Bailey of Malden, has been accused of passing himself off as a Boston Housing Authority official and pocketing $7,400 in fees. The other, Ana Cruz of Hyde Park, is accused of selling altered Section 8 vouchers to three victims for a total of $1,330.

The Housing Authority, which has a waiting list of more than 7,000 applicants, does not sell the vouchers. Funded with federal housing grants, the vouchers are good for about $1,020 a month in rent and utilities for poor families. The waiting list is opened only rarely for new applicants, most recently for a two-week period in October.

Bailey is accused of requesting fees of $1,500 to $2,000 each from the victims, promising to fast-track their Section 8 applications. In exchange for the money, Housing Authority officials said, he gave them standard Section 8 applications and then told the victims to meet him at a corner outside Housing Authority headquarters for Section 8 orientation, just as actual voucher recipients are instructed.

Several victims showed up at the same time asking for Bailey and were told nobody by that name worked for the agency, according to Housing Authority officials, prompting officials to report the potential fraud to the Inspector Generals' office for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Both were charged with larceny by scheme over $250 on Nov. 17 in Boston Municipal Court. Bailey was arrested on Feb. 5, according to the Housing Authority.

Neither Bailey nor Cruz had listed numbers. It was not immediately known whether they had attorneys. Peter Emerzian, special agent in charge of the inspector general's office in Boston, did not return a call seeking comment yesterday.

Boston Housing Authority administrator Sandra B. Henriquez said people are particularly susceptible to be taken in by scammers during an economic downturn.

"As resources and opportunities shrink for people who need them, the demand for affordable housing keeps growing exponentially," she said. "People are so desperate for affordable housing that they believe that there must be ways to shortcut the system. People who need affordable hosing shouldn't be asking to shell out any sums of money for something that they get for free."

Henriquez said the agency has established a fraud unit of one worker who reports to an attorney within the Section 8 division as a result of the incidents. She said the Housing Authority also is considering establishing a fraud unit within its traditional public housing division to investigate unscrupulous tenants and landlords.

"We need to make sure the resources that are scarce indeed get used appropriately and are really available for people who need them," she said.

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