LOS ANGELES : 4 Charged With Bilking Housing Agency of $44,500

Criminal charges were filed Monday against four people accused of swindling the Los Angeles Housing Authority out of $44,500 in rent subsidies, the city attorney’s office said.

Deputy City Atty. Ellen Friedmann said complaints were filed in Los Angeles Municipal Court against Saundra Denise Towns, 44, of Mesa, Ariz., Mary Lee Carter, 47, of Vallejo, and Odessa Wilkes, 24, and Bernadette Ransom, 45, both of Los Angeles.

Each is charged with grand theft in connection with allegedly fraudulent claims to collect subsidies under the Section 8 federal housing program, prosecutors said. If convicted, each faces a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. Prosecutors also will seek full restitution, Friedmann said.