A San Francisco man has been handed a one-year prison sentence for defrauding $340,000 from a program designed to aid low-income families in their quest for affordable housing. 64-year-old Gregory Finkelson admitted to manipulating the Section 8 Certificate Program, a federally funded housing subsidy, after authorities from the FBI, HUD OIG, and IRS-CI, along with the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA), launched a deep-dive into his finances, discovering the ruse that lasted approximately from August 2006 to February 2020, as confirmed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In confirmed court filings, Finkelson owned up to falsely claiming he did not possess his San Francisco home, instead using a Russian national's name to facilitate the purchase and mask the true ownership. Additionally, he established multiple bank accounts under this identity, funneling government funds into his personal and business expenses; this included the payment of credit card bills and a timeshare in Hawaii, while his property achieved a skyrocketing market value of $2.4 million.
The substantial deceit carried out by Finkelson was outlined by U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and his colleagues, who condemned Finkelson's actions for harming not just the individuals in dire need of housing assistance but also the public's trust in governmental financial stewardship. The implications of Finkelson's crimes stretch beyond the walls of his materially furnished life to touch upon the lives of those for whom every dollar could mean the difference between shelter and the street.
Following his July 2023 indictment and subsequent guilty plea in May this year, Judge James Donato has not only sentenced Finkelson to prison but also sentenced him to a three-year supervised release after his term of custody; furthermore, he must pay back the full $341,455 that he embezzled, a sum reflecting the extent of his thievery and the cost of his moral bankruptcy. "Because of his conduct," the U.S. Attorney's Office stated, "Finkelson deprived low-income families actually in need of housing over the entire period of his scheme," thereby acknowledging the duration and depth of his scheme along with its impact on the vulnerable.
