Mark G. Peters, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), issued the following
statement on the guilty plea of DEREK BROOMES, the former president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit
housing organization Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (“HCCI”) to one count of embezzling funds
from a government-funded program and instead using the money to pay for personal expenses. HCCI provides
various services, including services relating to housing and economic development. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin
Nathaniel Fox presided over the plea in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The
Office of Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, prosecuted the case.
BROOMES is expected to be sentenced on April 26, 2018.
DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “This defendant stole public funds from some of the City’s neediest
New Yorkers and his criminal conduct undermined one of the most basic needs of life – housing. DOI thanks the Office
of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York for their partnership on this important case, helping
us protect valuable taxpayer funds and vulnerable New Yorkers.”
BROOMES, 72, of the Bronx, N.Y., pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from a program receiving
federal funds, a federal charge which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years.
According to DOI’s investigation, since 2013, BROOMES stole more than $200,000 in funds from HCCI using
a corporate credit card issued in his name to purchase luxury items, including electronics and clothing, and other
unauthorized expenses, including personal auto repairs and medical bills. To cover up these expenditures, BROOMES
misappropriated federal funds that were provided to HCCI through the federally-funded Scattered Site Housing
Program (“SSHP”), funds designated to subsidize rents for low-income individuals who are living with HIV and/or AIDS.
As a result of these actions, HCCI was often unable to make rent payments for the apartments on a timely basis and
tenants of the SSHP apartments were threatened with eviction.
DOI Commissioner Peters thanked United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey S.
Berman, and his staff, for their partnership in this investigation.
