Federal Prosecutors: Fake Leases Used To Steal $187,000 In Housing Aid

WILMINGTON – Two men from Texas and New York have pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a scheme that used fraudulent rental assistance applications to obtain more than $187,000 from North Carolina’s NC HOPE program.

Daquan Copeland, 35, of Houston, Texas, and Esless White Sr., 51, of Jamaica, New York, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Both men face up to 30 years in federal prison and fines of up to $1 million when they are sentenced later this year.

According to federal prosecutors, Copeland, White and others submitted false tenant leases for several properties in Lenoir County as part of applications for emergency rental assistance.

Between November 2020 and December 2021, the group submitted 23 fraudulent applications and obtained more than $187,000 in government housing funds, prosecutors said.

The money came through the North Carolina Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions program, known as NC HOPE.

The program was created to help renters who were struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing rental and utility assistance.

Federal prosecutors said the defendants used the money for personal purposes rather than legitimate housing expenses.

“Daquan Copeland and Esless White participated in a conspiracy that diverted more than $180,000 in limited taxpayer funds for their own enrichment,” said Jerome Winkle, special agent in charge with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General.

The NC HOPE program used federal funding made available through the CARES Act.

An initial $51.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funding was allocated to the program for housing and utility assistance.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the guilty pleas.