Charleston man pleads guilty in scheme to defraud affordable housing program

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- A Charleston man has agreed to plead guilty to charges alleging he defrauded a federal affordable housing program.

In a May 25 court filing, Aaron Martez Spann agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy scheme involving developmental grants issued by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBA).

The offense carries a maximum penalty of five years incarceration, a $250,000 fine, and three years supervision upon release.

In partnership with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, FHLBA disburses funds to rehabilitate affordable housing for low-income and military families. The maximum subsidy was $12,500 per household.

According to court documents, Spann and a group of co-conspirators submitted false information to FHLBA that inflated the costs of rehabilitation work performed on homes of grant recipients and wrongly claimed the homes had been inspected.

The alleged conspiracy lasted sixteen months during which Spann failed to allocate money for construction and inspection costs for six grants. Instead, he used those funds for personal expenses, the U.S. Attorney said in the document.

Spann will be sentenced in Charleston at a later date.