A 27-year-old District woman has admitted to swindling over $245,000 from a COVID-19 tenant assistance program, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia revealed Wednesday. Khin Phoo Ngon, from Washington D.C., pleaded guilty to felony charges related to her exploitation of the STAY DC program meant to help renters during the pandemic downturn.
As part of her plea, Ngon conceded to having submitted seven fraudulent STAY DC applications. In a move that seemed to deceive a system overburdened by desperation and needs easily, she underreported her income, lied about her residence, and falsely claimed unpaid rent. Her scheme successfully netted substantial sums from the program designed to aid those in distress quickly. In one brazen claim, she provided a lease for an apartment she had vacated and managed to obtain $37,000, according to court documents wrongfully.
Ngon's deceit extended to misusing the personal details of her own stepfather, submitting applications in his name without his consent, and lying about his residence and past-due rent, a fact she admitted in her guilty plea. With fabrications and doctored documents, such as expired driver's licenses and tax returns, she pilfered another $82,800 from the relief fund to keep hard-hit residents in their homes amid the economic fallout of the pandemic.
Concocting a false narrative for an associate's application, Ngon continued to reveal her knack for forgery. She created a fraudulent lease, exaggerating the lease term and monthly rent. This fiction convinced the overtasked program administrators to issue a check for $78,200. Ngon managed to siphon off at least $38,500 of that amount personally. The litany of her financial duplicitousness was exposed as she pled guilty to two counts each of First-Degree Felony Fraud, Theft, and Identity Theft, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Sentencing for Ngon is scheduled for August 9, following her plea before the Honorable Jason Park. With the admission of her crimes, Ngon now awaits judgment for actions that siphoned resources so desperately needed by many D.C. residents during one of the nation’s most challenging economic crises.
