Tipp City man sentenced for rental assistance fraud

WHIO Staff
·2 min read

A Tipp City man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding a local non-profit organization.

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Antoine Draines, 43, defrauded the Miami Valley Community Action Partnership (MVCAP) of rental assistance funds, the U.S. Southern District of Ohio said Tuesday.

MVCAP received federal funding as part of the CARES Act.

He has been ordered to pay over $94,000 in restitution.

Draines controlled and operated Freedom for Living Property Management, LLC in Tipp City, according to court documents.

The company owned and served as landlord of numerous rental properties n Dayton.

“Draines was at one point the second-largest individual owner of Section 8 housing units in Greater Dayton,” said the U.S. Southern District of Ohio spokesperson. “He lied to MVCAP so he could improperly collect emergency rental assistance money for certain properties. Draines knowingly sent false landlord statement forms concealing the critical fact that certain tenants were already having a substantial portion of their rent paid through federally funded housing vouchers.”

In addition, Draines fraudulently applied for and received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, resulting in Draines wrongfully collecting approximately $30,000, the Southern District of Ohio said.

“Through a cynical, opportunistic fraud scheme, Draines, sought to steal more than $150,000 from MVCAP by seeking emergency assistance that was not actually needed, or not actually used, to cover the rental obligations of existing tenants,” said Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “The specific circumstances of Draines’ COVID-related fraud only make it worse. Draines targeted programs intended to aid those struggling to make ends meet in the face of the pandemic, converting a global health crisis into a chance at a quick buck.”

He pleaded guilty to wire fraud in March 2023.