Seven plead guilty

Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 31, 2008

THE SELMA TIMES-JOURNAL

MOBILE &8212; All seven of the people indicted in the Section 8 housing scam earlier this year have pleaded guilty.

Court records show the last guilty plea was received in U.S. District Court on Friday. Each person pleaded guilty to theft of government funds for claiming federal housing subsidies for which they did not qualify. The seven women are from Selma and are Tanya Anderson, Darnetta Doyle, Delandra Norris, Sophia Hill, Judice Ann Caver, Sabrina McNeill and Jackie Eaton.

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“It is important to remember that the Selma Housing Authority has a waiting list of over 500 families,” said U.S. Attorney Deborah Rhodes in a prepared statement. “Every time someone obtains rent-free federal housing through fraud, honest families who qualify are kept out. The Justice Department will work closely with local housing authorities and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to make sure that the helping hand of federal housing grants is available to those who truly qualify.”

Each of the women faces a maximum federal prison sentence of 10 years, depending on previous criminal involvement. The women are also expected to make full restitution as part of their guilty pleas, according to court documents.