(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today joined Benjamin C. Glassman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, in announcing that the former executive director and chief financial officer of the Coshocton Metropolitan Housing Authority has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $431,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Gregory J. Darr, 64, of Coshocton, entered the plea today in U.S. District Court.
Darr had served as the executive director and chief financial officer of the CMHA (which received money from HUD) since 2001. Despite federal regulations that prohibited it, he also started serving as the executive director of the CMHA resident council, a tenant organization that represents other public-housing residents and conducts programming. Between January 2012 and September 2017, Darr allegedly embezzled money from both the CMHA and the resident council, using funds and resources for personal costs, such as restaurant bills, real estate investments, or business ventures.
“Greg Darr violated the public trust and stole from the people he was supposed to serve,” Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said. “My office’s Economic Crimes Unit, acting on information received from the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office, launched an investigation that uncovered a pattern of theft and abuse at the Coshocton Metropolitan Housing Authority. I sincerely appreciate the hard work our local and federal partners put into pursuing the case and holding this man accountable. Together we will continue to root out public corruption.”
“Over time, Darr consolidated power and authority over both CMHA and the resident council. Abuse of these positions of public trust enabled him to embezzle and convert federal funds and to conceal his crimes from others,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said.
“The charges disclosed today prove our continuing resolve to root out fraud and corruption in all forms, particularly when the programs involved should have been used to help our neediest families,” said Special Agent in Charge Brad Geary of the HUD Office of Inspector General. “It is our continuing core mission to work with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney’s Office to protect the integrity of our housing programs and to take strong action against those who seek to personally benefit from them.”
The case was investigated by the Ohio Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Unit, Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office, HUD OIG, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (in Georgia), and U.S. Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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