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A landlord who rented an apartment to his mother-in-law in violation of a federal housing program has to repay the federal government, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Dmitry Royzman claimed subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development between December 2008 and August 2020. He will repay the federal government $128,000.
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“Royzman rented a subsidized apartment to his mother-in-law in violation of the Housing Choice Voucher Program’s (“HCVP”) requirements. The HCVP is commonly known as Section 8 housing. In the settlement agreement, the United States alleges that Royzman participated as a landlord in the HCVP, a program whereby HUD provides rental subsidies for eligible low-income tenants who locate acceptable rental units on the private market. The government alleges that Royzman submitted documents to the Bucks County Housing Authority (which administers the HCVP in Bucks County) falsely certifying that the assisted tenant in Royzman’s rental property was not an immediate relative of the property’s owners. In fact, the sole tenant was Royzman’s mother-in-law, which precluded Royzman’s receipt of HCVP rental subsidies,” the U.S. Department of Justice’s regional division said in their statement.
The location of the apartment in Bucks County was not released by authorities.
“HUD instituted the HCVP program to help low-income residents without other options obtain decent housing,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. “Landlords who agree to participate in this program cannot manipulate it to give subsidized housing to their relatives. By investigating this case, we have put all landlords participating in the Section 8 program on notice that they cannot put relatives in apartments for which they are receiving HCVP funds.”
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Williams said that Royzman “committed himself to setting things right” once the issue was brought to light.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General and the Bucks County Housing Authority investigated the case.
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“Today’s settlement underscores the government’s commitment to protecting the integrity of HUD programs against fraud, waste, or abuse,” said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General Acting Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice.
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