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Two indicted for defrauding federal program

Sales of justice. (Stock image/Pixabay/Nomevisualizato)

HAMMOND, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Two people are facing charges in northwest Indiana in separate indictments related to violations of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Blight Elimination Program. U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch’s office says the defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent documents in order to receive payment through the program.

The first indictment alleges Mahmoud Alshuaibi of Illinois submitted false and fraudulent documents to support his claim for payment from the city of Hammond for demolition work through the program. Alshuaibi is the owner and office of IESCO Construction Inc. and the indictment says the activity occurred between January 2016 and March 2017.

Alshuaibi faces charges of wire fraud, theft from a local government receiving federal funds, and making a false and fraudulent statement.

A separate indictment alleges Gary Hayden Sr. of Logansport, owner of B&G Construction, with committing the same crime between December 2015 and February 2016. He faces a charge of theft from a local government receiving federal funds.

The cases were investigated by the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or SIGTARP.

“The Blight Elimination Program was designed to help stabilize communities,” Kirsch said in a news release. “We will continue to work with SIGTARP and other law enforcement entities to investigate and prosecute individuals who commit acts of fraud against the Blight Elimination Program and any other program designed to help the communities in the Northern District of Indiana.”

Kirsch’s office says if the two are convicted in court, a judge will determine the sentencing.