Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that VICTOR RIVERA was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for conspiring to commit honest services fraud. RIVERA, who used to lead Bronx Parent Housing Network (“BPHN”), a non-profit organization that operated soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and affordable-housing facilities in New York City, schemed to enrich himself through bribes and kickbacks from BPHN’s contractors. RIVERA was sentenced by United States District Judge Sidney H. Stein.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Victor Rivera abused his position of authority at a non-profit established to help the most vulnerable in order to line his own pockets. For this egregious violation of trust, he is now sentenced to prison.”
According to allegations in the Information, other court filings, and statements made in court:
RIVERA was the President and Chief Executive Officer of BPHN, which annually spent millions of dollars in public funds on real estate, security, cleaning, construction, and food expenses, among other costs related to the housing and social services BPHN provided. From at least in or about 2013 until in or about 2020, RIVERA engaged in a scheme to enrich himself and his relatives by soliciting and accepting bribes and kickbacks from contractors doing work related to or for BPHN. The scheme yielded RIVERA hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit gains.
In addition to his prison sentence, RIVERA, 62, of Stony Point, New York, was sentenced to two years of supervised release. RIVERA was also ordered to forfeit $1,249,158.93, and to pay BPHN $902,269.23 in restitution.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the New York Department of Investigation. Mr. Williams also thanked the Internal Revenue Service for its assistance.
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