Former Executive Director of Luna Pier Housing Commission Sentenced for Stealing Commission Funds

Kay Jean Axel, 56, of Erie, Michigan, was sentenced today to three years of supervised release, with the first five months to be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring, and ordered to pay restitution today after pleading guilty to stealing more than $32,000 from the Luna Pier Housing Commission (LPHC) while she was employed as its executive director. Between January 2007 and January 2010, Axel used LPHC credit and debit cards to make personal purchases in excess of $32,000.

United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade was joined in this announcement by Barry McLaughlin, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, and Robert D. Foley, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley, III, stated, “Public officials who take office must represent citizens by being honest, fair, and trustworthy. The Detroit Area Public Corruption Task Force is committed to ensuring that those who violate such standards and seek to instead enrich themselves will face serious consequences

Special Agent in Charge Barry McLaughlin stated, “This theft of government funds has hit this community’s neediest families. We will continue our laser-like investigative focus on the executives that mismanage and defraud Michigan’s housing commissions.”

This case was investigated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.