FORMER NYCHA EMPLOYEE INDICTED FOR CORRUPTION IN SCHEME TO STEAL FROM CURRENT AND PROSPECTIVE TENANTS

 

Defendant Allegedly Took More Than $20,000 from Victims

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a former employee of New York City Housing Authority’s Throggs Neck Houses was indicted on Grand Larceny, Bribe Receiving and other public corruption-related charges for allegedly defrauding people of more than $20,000 by falsely claiming he would secure them better apartments. 

District Attorney Clark said, “This defendant allegedly used his position as a NYCHA employee to convince NYCHA tenants and other people to give him money in exchange for securing a Section 8 Voucher. As a result of this defendant’s greed, seven hard working New Yorkers were allegedly scammed out of more than $20,000.” 

Acting DOI Commissioner Chris Ryan said, "NYCHA Housing Assistants have a responsibility to work closely and honestly with potential tenants to assist in finding a suitable unit to rent. Instead, as charged, this defendant used his access and position to accept thousands of dollars in bribes — taking advantage of vulnerable housing applicants and NYCHA residents to enrich himself. DOI wants all New Yorkers to be aware that NYCHA does not charge or request a fee in connection with applying or processing an application for public housing or Section 8 rental units. If you receive a request for payment from anyone posing as NYCHA personnel, report it to DOI’s NYCHA Inspector General at 212-306-3355. I thank the complainant who reported to DOI the allegations that led to this indictment, NYCHA for its collaboration on the investigation, and the Bronx District Attorney's Office for its partnership and commitment to protect precious public housing benefits and the integrity of the public housing system."

District Attorney Clark said The defendant, Jose Lopez Molina, 47, of Newington, CT, was arraigned on March 25, 2026, before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Pamela Goldsmith on multiple counts of third-degree Grand Larceny as a Public Corruption Crime, fourth-degree Grand Larceny as a Public Corruption Crime, third-degree Grand Larceny, fourth-degree Grand Larceny, thirddegree Bribe Receiving, first-degree Scheme to Defraud, first-degree Forgery, second-degree Forgery, third-degree Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, second-degree Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument and Official Misconduct.

According to the investigation, Molina was employed as a housing assistant in the NYCHA Throggs Neck Houses on Schley Avenue. Between August 2023 and April 2025, the defendant allegedly approached multiple people, both tenants and non-tenants, about assisting them in getting either a Section 8 voucher or NYCHA housing ahead of other applicants in exchange for money. Fifteen victims were identified, and Molina is charged with victimizing seven of them.

The defendant allegedly forged Section 8 vouchers and presented them to the victims as legitimate vouchers. The defendant also allegedly provided addresses and apartment numbers to some of the victims and indicated that they were approved to move in, causing them not to renew their current lease. The defendant also allegedly led some NYCHA tenants to believe that they could settle their back rent by paying him a fee.

District Attorney Clark thanked Department of Investigation’s Investigator Enio Bencosme, Housing and Urban Development Agent JP Gueli and Homeland Security New York Office for their assistance in the investigation. District Attorney Clark thanked the Newington Police Department for their assistance in apprehending the defendant. 

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.