Jury convicts Holland, Ohio man of theft of public money, concealment of bankruptcy assets, and bankruptcy fraud

This week, a Toledo federal jury convicted Arvel Ray Henderson, II, age 50, on one count of theft of public money, one count of concealment of bankruptcy assets, and one count of bankruptcy fraud.  Henderson is scheduled to be sentenced on December 20, 2019.

Henderson, who was enrolled as a Section 8 landlord with the Lucas County Metropolitan Housing Authority (LMHA), leased several Section 8-eligible properties in the Toledo area, one of which was on Mackow Drive.  Henderson began receiving rent payments for this property from LMHA starting in 2005.  In 2011, Henderson transferred ownership of the Mackow Drive property to his stepfather.  Because Henderson no longer owned the property, he was no longer entitled to the Section 8 payments, yet he continued taking the payments for nearly three additional years after he ceased being the property’s owner.  Henderson defrauded LMHA of approximately $22,589.

In June 2014, Henderson filed as an individual for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  Henderson failed to list the following items in his bankruptcy schedules:  three bank accounts, a variable annuity account, $499,980 in wire transfers, $20,000 in loaned funds, a 2004 BMW, and a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  The bankruptcy court, trustee, and Henderson’s creditors were thus misled about material information used to determine Henderson’s eligibility for bankruptcy protection and the appropriate terms of any bankruptcy discharge.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gene Crawford and Jody L. King.