Detroit nonprofit director charged in scheme that stole houses from dozens of residents
(CBS DETROIT) - A Detroit woman who was the director of a local non-profit has been charged for her role in a scheme that stole houses from several residents, police said.
Zina Thomas, 60, was arrested Wednesday and is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
Federal officials say that more than 30 houses in Wayne County, mostly Detroit, were impacted by the scheme that targeted low-income residents at risk of facing tax foreclosure.
Prosecutors allege Thomas, who was the director of homeownership programs at the United Community Housing Coalition, allegedly helped file multiple fraudulent quitclaim deeds and transferred them to "interim owners" who did not exist. Thomas notarized the deeds and emailed fake driver's licenses and other documents to the Wayne County Treasurer's Office before selling the properties to third parties.
As a result, officials say she received payment for some of the properties and transferred the money into a bank account named after her reality company. Proceeds from that account were deposited into her personal bank account.
"This scheme targeted some of our most financially vulnerable citizens and was perpetrated by an individual whose job it was to help those very people avoid losing their homes to foreclosure. This arrest is the result of a multi-agency, cooperative investigation involving both federal and state law enforcement and is reflective of our ongoing efforts to identify and disrupt fraud schemes like this as quickly as possible," said U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison.