Check the company website and Gregory Finkelson’s business bio states that as President of American Corporate Services “he meticulously strives to cultivate and improve his skills by engaging in activities that could improve his business ideologies and intelligence.” And yet, on September 20, 2024, he was sentenced to one year in prison for theft of government property. Because of his fraudulent receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars in low-income housing benefits. Actions speak louder than words. And certainly says something about a person’s character.
Section 8 is a rental subsidy program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), that helps low-income families find rental housing in the private market by paying all or part of their rent. And also helped Finkelson invest in his business while living in a $2 million home that he owned. To hide his house ownership, Finkelson used the name of a Russian national living in Russia to buy his San Francisco home. Yet, in his HUD applications, he claimed that this Russian was the landlord and that he paid rent to her. Finkelson used several bank accounts, including one in the Russian’s name, to conceal the Section 8 subsidies he obtained. Unfortunately, he used this money to pay off credit card bills, make payments on a Hawaiian timeshare, and fund his business. A business which he ran out of his own house.
Finkelson divided the single-family home into three units, renting one while living in another and running his business out of the third. But he concealed his ownership of the company and the fact that he was the company’s sole president. Instead, he claimed to merely be an employee, reporting an income of $12,000 per year as a notary public. Low enough for him to qualify for Section 8. And way less than American Corporate Services earned per year.
Finkelson’s six-bedroom, five-bathroom home is now worth $2.4 million and currently listed for rent at almost $10,000 per month. Available for rent for the next 12 months while Finkelson is in prison.
Excellent job by the HUD Office of the Inspector General in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “San Francisco man sentenced to prison for stealing $341k in housing aid” published by The Center Square on September 20, 2024.
Gregory Finkelson received a one-year prison sentence for theft of government property because of his fraudulent receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars in low-income housing benefits in San Francisco, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.
The Honorable James Donato, United States District Judge, imposed the sentence last week. The Section 8 Certificate Program is a HUD-funded rent subsidy program; the San Francisco Housing Authority administers the program in San Francisco, California.
