NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Queens couple was charged last week with stealing nearly $3,500 in COVID-19 relief funds that were intended for tenant rental assistance.
Simon Holder, 38, and Shellon Gill, 32, both of Jamaica, have been charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and other crimes for allegedly falsely filing for COVID-19 Residential Rent Relief funds.
According to the charges, Gill filed for rent relief to be sent to the owner of the home she was renting around July 27, 2020. While filing, she allegedly falsely claimed she was the only person living in the residence – and arranged for the payment to be sent to Holder at an address in Brooklyn.
The Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) accepted the application and emailed a letter and other documents to be filled out by the presumed property owner, listed as Holder.
Holder allegedly falsified those documents and the DHCR issued him a check for $3,480.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said an attorney with the DHCR eventually spoke to the actual owner of Gill’s building, on Tuskegee Airman Way, who then indicated that both Holder and Gill were his tenants.
The building owner reportedly told the attorney that the two had moved into a rental unit in early 2019 and had not paid rent since mid-2019. The owner had secured an eviction order, but the moratorium prevented him from removing the pair, Katz said.
The DCHR contacted Gill after the meeting and told her to give the $3,480 to the property owner or return the money to the state.
Neither Gill nor Holder complied, Katz added. Instead, Holder allegedly called the property owner and threatened to shoot him for reporting the scheme to the authorities.
“As alleged, these two defendants took advantage of a NYS Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) program that was created to keep people in their homes by paying their rent directly to property owners,” Katz said. “Even after they were caught allegedly pocketing the money from the Covid-19 Residential Rent Relief Program, the tenants refused to return the funds and are now facing serious charges. We will not stand for this in Queens County.”
Both Gill and Holder are due back in court on Dec. 10. If convicted, the two face up to seven years in prison.
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