Three arrested for defrauding NYC rent assistance program, stealing $1.1 MILLION in taxpayer funds

According to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, 39-year-old Erica Williams led a scheme from 2021 to 2025 to defraud the city's "One Shot Deal" program. Prosecutors say she pretended to be a tenant in financial trouble and then directed the money into bank accounts she claimed were held by landlords, per the New York Post.

Williams is accused of working with Kareem Canty, 33, and Tajizhanae Whitaker, 29, to carry out the scheme. The three allegedly submitted the actual names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of tenants to the city's Human Resources Administration, and some of those tenants were unaware their information was being used.

Prosecutors said the group filed 170 fraudulent applications. 94 of them were approved by the agency and the payout amounted to about $1.1 million.

The rental program covers up to six months of rent for New Yorkers who fall behind because of sudden setbacks such as job loss or a medical crisis. Payment is supposed to go straight to the landlord or building manager.

A conviction for aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory sentence of at least two years. The most serious charge, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, carries up to 20 years.

Williams lives in Union, New Jersey, and Canty lives in East Orange. Both appeared in Manhattan court Wednesday evening and were freed on $50,000 bond each.

Whitaker, of Dacula, New Jersey, was arrested in Georgia and was still being held there as of Thursday.