V.I. Government Officials Charged in $4M HUD Fraud Scheme

The Education Department Director of Maintenance, Davidson Charlemagne, 50, and his wife, Sasha Charlemagne, 44, both of St. Croix, were arrested after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging the pair with government program fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith announced Thursday.

The indictment also charges former Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority Chief Operating Officer Darin Richardson, 56, of St. Thomas, with criminal conflict of interest and making materially false statements.

“As alleged, these defendants exploited hurricane recovery efforts in order to develop and carry out a $4 million scheme to defraud taxpayers,” said Smith. “The indictment levied against these individuals sends a clear message that the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners followed the money and will continue to hold public officials seeking to profit from natural disasters accountable for their crimes. I commend the diligent work done by Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General who worked tirelessly to uncover this conspiracy to defraud the citizens of our Territory.”