{"id":3613,"date":"2026-07-23T17:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3613"},"modified":"2026-07-23T17:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:08:10","slug":"columbia-housing-official-indicted-for-stealing-money-meant-for-rent-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3613","title":{"rendered":"Columbia Housing official indicted for stealing money meant for rent assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A Columbia Housing Authority official accused of stealing over $20,000 has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with embezzling federal dollars meant to help Richland County families pay their rent.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3612\">SC\u2019s Mark Sanford tries another political comeback bid in U.S. Senate race<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Federal prosecutors allege that between September 2024 and May 2025, Earnest Eugene Brown knowingly stole payments to the Columbia Housing Authority from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, embezzled money meant for rental assistance, and committed identity theft, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court July 21.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Brown is described as an agent of the housing authority. The State has contacted the housing authority for a statement and for information on Brown\u2019s employment status. An Earnest Brown had previously been listed online as the agency\u2019s interim vice president of the housing choice voucher department. His name has since been removed from that webpage, according to the internet archive.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Brown had not made a court appearance as of July 23, and a hearing date had not been set, a spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3610\">Why an SC woman was arrested for trying to cash in a winning lottery ticket<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Brown\u2019s charges include \u201cwillfully and knowingly\u201d stealing over $1,000 in payments to the local housing authority from the federal housing department. Brown also is charged with having \u201cembezzled, stole, obtained by fraud, and intentionally misapplied\u201d at least $5,000 meant for the housing authority to put toward rental assistance.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The third count alleges Brown used someone else\u2019s identification \u201cduring and in relation to a felony.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>If Brown is convicted, prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of approximately $20,340, which the indictment describes as the minimum amount of proceeds he allegedly obtained from the offenses.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3609\">York County sheriff defends Flock camera usage, promises more transparency<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Columbia Housing official was indicted for stealing over $20,000 in HUD rent assistance for Richland County families and for using a fake ID, indictment says<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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