Homeless betrayed by ex-CEO: feds
The former CEO of one of the city’s largest providers of housing for the homeless was charged Wednesday with taking kickbacks from contractors — and prosecutors say he’s seeking to cooperate.
Victor Rivera, who was ousted from the Bronx Parent Housing Network last month following a New York Times report that he’d sexually assaulted or harassed 10 women, was charged in Manhattan Federal Court with the scheme starting in 2013 that earned him “at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit gains,” according to prosecutors. He allegedly used some of the dirty money to pay the mortgage on his $780,000 home in Stony Point, Rockland County.
“Many of the over 8.4 [million] residents of New York City rely on government-assisted nonprofits to provide food, affordable housing and other essential services for their well-being. As alleged in today’s charges, by accepting bribes and kickbacks, Victor Rivera sought to leverage his position as the CEO of a nonprofit into a very much for-profit situation for himself,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said.
Rivera, 61, pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Prosecutors said during his court appearance, which wasn’t announced until after it concluded, that Rivera is seeking to cooperate. Rivera’s attorney did not respond to an inquiry.
In one alleged kickback scheme, co-conspirators of Rivera subleased property controlled by the Housing Network. They then wrote checks for consulting fees to a company controlled by one of Rivera’s relatives, prosecutors said. Rivera then allegedly spent the consulting money on himself.
Rivera is reportedly also under investigation for sexual harassment and assaults of women, including homeless women staying at shelters operated by his network. The Times report also raised questions about nepotism and conflicts of interest involving Rivera’s leadership of the nonprofit that received more than $274 million in city money since 2017.
“As CEO of a city-funded nonprofit, this defendant should have been serving the underprivileged, including the homeless; instead, according to the criminal information, he schemed to enrich himself and his relatives, taking bribes and kickbacks from those doing business with his organization,” city Investigation Commissioner Margaret Garnett said.