NEW ORLEANS - Dwayne Muhammad, the former head of the HANO Section 8 program, was sentenced to eight months in federal prison, eight months of house arrest and ordered to pay $45,000 in restitution, after pleading guilty to stealing federal funds.
Muhammad, who was earning nearly $100,000 a year, and his girlfriend used a Section 8 voucher to cover their rent while living in a Gentilly house.
Judge Sarah Vance sentenced him pleaded guilty to one count of theft of federal funds and will begin serving his sentence April 28.
Muhammad, 37, was accused of running the Section 8 housing program at the same time he was also living in a house on Western Street in Gentilly for which was receiving federal Section 8 vouchers in a story that was first reported by Eyewitness News.
“As I told the court,” said his attorney Vinny Mosca, “he had gotten custody of his two children after going through a divorce that was highly contested, and [he] moved in with his mother and provided an opportunity to get the assistance. He knew better, he made an error in judgment and he’s paying the price for it.”
While running the program, Muhammad made about $100,000 a year, but he received a housing voucher of $1,400 a month.
He pleaded guilty in December and Wednesday received his sentence, which falls well short of the maximum 10 years in jail he could have received.
