NYC Department of Investigation (“DOI”) officials announced Friday, Feb. 14, that a former Bronx County prosecutor, her brother, and her mother pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining affordable housing in Manhattan via NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD).

 

They said the defendants obtained housing for which they were ineligible, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits, by providing false information on applications to rent and own affordable housing units. DOI officials said they investigated the matter with the Office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, which prosecuted the case.

 

DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said, “New York City’s affordable housing is a precious resource, and it is only available to those who qualify. When ineligible applicants falsify housing applications, they steal from the City and from fellow New Yorkers in true need, and they will be held accountable, as these defendants are today.” She thanked both HPD for bringing the matter to DOI’s attention, and Bragg for his office’s partnership.

 

Officials said Jennifer Jacques, 42, her brother, Samuel Jacques, 35, and their mother, Marielle Jacques, 67, each from Manhattan, were charged in December 2023. They said Jennifer Jacques pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the second degree, a class C felony, scheme to defraud in the first degree and offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, both class E felonies.

 

As part of her guilty plea, officials said she is required to admit in documents filed with HPD that she violated the residency requirement of City-funded affordable mortgages and subsidies. They said from September 2008 to September 2013, Jennifer Jacques, an attorney licensed to practice in New York State, worked as an assistant district attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office and is currently in private practice.

 

Officials said as a result of the conviction, her license to practice law is revoked by operation of law, she is scheduled to be sentenced in April and faces five years’ probation plus 500 hours of community service. They said Samuel Jacques, 35, pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the second degree, a class C felony; scheme to defraud in the first degree, a class E felony; and attempted scheme to defraud in the first degree, a class A misdemeanor. As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors said he vacated the affordable apartment he recently occupied, and is scheduled to be sentenced two years after the date of his plea

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They said he has a court appearance scheduled in August, and added that if he completes 500 hours of community service, and has no new arrests for two years, he may withdraw his guilty pleas to the felony charges and will receive a sentence of three years’ probation on the remaining class A misdemeanor. They said Marielle Jacques, 67, pleaded guilty to falsifying business records in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor on Jan. 16. They said she was sentenced that day to a conditional discharge as part of her plea agreement.

 

According to the investigation, the defendants applied for a unit within an HPD-sponsored affordable housing development located on West 42nd Street in October 2017. The defendants’ application, along with subsequent recertifications, contained forged ADP payroll records for Samuel Jacques.

 

The court heard that the application also falsely represented that Samuel Jacques would live in the apartment, whereas in fact, Jennifer Jacques, who was ineligible to rent an affordable housing unit due to owning an affordable apartment in Manhattan, lived in the West 42nd Street apartment. Prosecutors said that while living in the West 42nd Street apartment, she rented out her own apartment in Harlem, purchased in part with City subsidies that required her to live in the unit for 15 consecutive years.

 

They said from 2021 through 2022, Samuel Jacques and two other members of the Jacques family applied for another HPD-sponsored apartment on West 43rd Street. They said several application documents submitted by Jennifer Jacques and Samuel Jacques contained false information.

 

They added that Jennifer Jacques also notarized some of those documents, and the application was referred to DOI for investigation by HPD staff responsible for reviewing housing applications.

 

For his part, Bragg, Jr., said in part, “In a housing crisis, every affordable unit counts, and we will not tolerate fraud from ineligible applicants.”

 

The prosecution team was led by Assistant District Attorney Jaime Hickey-Mendoza, and supervised by Assistant District Attorney Christopher Beard (deputy bureau chief of the Rackets Bureau), Assistant District Attorney Judy Salwen (principal deputy bureau chief of the Rackets Bureau), and Assistant District Attorney Jodie Kane (chief of the investigation division).

 

Strauber also thanked HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. and his staff for their cooperation. At DOI, the investigation was conducted by Special Investigator Eric Tyszka in DOI’s Office of the Inspector General for HPD and was supervised by Inspector General Michael Morris, Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives Christopher Ryan, and Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations Dominick Zarrella.

 

DOI investigations may involve any agency, officer, elected official or employee of the City, as well as those who do business with or receive benefits from the City. To provide tips to DOI, call (212) 3-NYC-DOI or email [email protected].