Woman convicted of embezzling more than $600,000 from East Hartford, Brooklyn housing complexes
Jun. 4—A Griswold woman pleaded guilty Thursday to embezzling a total of more than $600,000 from two federally subsidized housing complexes in the state, one in East Hartford, the other in Brooklyn, over a period of nine years.
The woman, Alicia Gardner, 51, entered her plea before Judge Victor A. Bolden in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Gardner was employed by Garden Homes Management Corporation with responsibilities that included managing the St. Mary's housing complex in East Hartford and the Salem Village I and II complex in Brooklyn.
Both housing complexes catered to elderly and disabled citizens receiving federal rental subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Between about 2009 and 2018, Gardner diverted rental payments and other tenant fees to a separate account she had set up for cable fees, then diverted those payments to pay more than $400,000 in personal expenses, the release says.
She also overcharged tenants a total of more than $60,000 for cable expenses, which increased the amount of money available to be diverted. In addition, the prosecutor will present evidence at sentencing that Gardner embezzled more than $150,000 in rental payments paid by St. Mary's tenants.
Gardner faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Her sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. She is free on $100,000 bond.
