IL Woman Gets 2 Years, Must Pay Back $350,000 In COVID Rental Fraud Case

HAMMOND, IND — A Lynwood woman was sentenced to prison time and ordered to pay more than $350,000 in restitution in a fraud case involving emergency rent funds.

Valencia Franklin, 52, of Lynwood, Illinois, was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to wire fraud, a federal felony offense, announced Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.

Franklin was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release and ordered to pay $352,300 in restitution to the victim of the offense.

According to documents in the case, in 2021, Company A, a not-for-profit organization in Merrillville, Indiana, administered and distributed federal Emergency Rental Assistance funds to local residents adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, prosecutors said. Franklin worked for Company A and defrauded the company by preparing fraudulent applications for Emergency Rental Assistance which falsely claimed her family members were landlords for certain properties, when in reality they had no connection to the properties. As a result of her false representations, Franklin funneled hundred of thousands of dollars in fraudulent payments to herself and others.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.