$1.9M Rental Aid Theft Probe Ensnares Marin Official

MARIN COUNTY, CA — A former Marin official has been charged in connection with the $1.9 theft from an emergency rental assistance program he helped run, the Marin County District Attorney’s Office said in. statement Wednesday.

Eric Faulks, a Solano County resident, was charged Wednesday with embezzlement of public funds, entering a computer system with the intent to defraud, and seven counts of grand theft, the DA’s office said.

Faulks is accused of using his position as an employment development counselor to approve transactions involving fraudulent landlord applications, prosecutors said.

Faulks had been assigned to help manage the safety-net program during the pandemic, prosecutors said.

Most of the funds Faulks is accused of embezzling were frozen and will be returned to the program, and the county will try to recover any remaining missing funds through the restitution process, prosecutors said.

The county became aware of suspicious transactions in June after being notified by an out-of-state bank, and officials immediately contacted the staff of District Attorney Lori E. Frugoli and contacts at both the state and federal rental assistance programs, prosecutors said.

The program provided aid to tenants and landlords unable to cover rent because of economic hardships tied to the pandemic.

“We take our stewardship of public funds very seriously,” Assistant County Administrator Angela Nicholson said in a statement.

“We have taken extra measures to detect fraud and ensure that these funds are provided for the important purposes of keeping families housed during these challenging times.”

County officials said they have enhanced security measures to ensure that additional fraud does not occur.

The county is conducting background checks on anybody working for the program, and verification of forms submitted on behalf of renters and landlords will undergo a thorough audit and will be verified by multiple people before rental payments are authorized, prosecutors said.

The program allowed for self-attestation for rental debt, which was intended to remove barriers for renters in the greatest need during the pandemic, prosecutors said.

“The added precautions are likely to add more time to the rental assistance payment process, although anybody who receives an eviction notice of 90 days or less is receiving priority service,” the DA’s office said.