Lock Up NYCHA’s Fraudsters

I n his comments on Monday’s settlement concerning the city Housing Authority, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman pointedly did not rule out criminal charges against individuals involved in all those years of deceit — and we hope to see some.

The consent decree only resolves the feds’ civil claims against NYCHA. Officials who committed crimes still need to pay.

After all, at least 19 kids are the victims of serious lead poisoning, their lives forever marred. And many of the agency’s 400,000 tenants also suffered from the scams.

The deceptions went far beyond the lies about lead-paint problems: Prosecutors outlined an elaborate scheme to routinely fool federal inspectors — faked repairs and despicable dodges like turning off buildings’ water to hide leaks, as well as a detailed system (complete with a “how to” guide) for foiling individual inspectors.

None of that is covered by the limited im- munity granted to public officials who law

fully do their jobs. As Fordham Law prof Jim Cohen told The Post, the parties to the coverup “committed a fraud on the federal government by hiding these problems.”

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and others are already calling for prosecutions.

Mayor de Blasio seemed to agree, telling NY1’s Errol Louis, “If we find any individual who is still working with us and has done something inappropriate, there are going to be real consequences for those folks, because you can’t accept it.”

“Any individual who is still working with us”? Hmm: For weeks, de Blasio stood by his NYCHA chairwoman, Shola Olatoye, despite her role in continuing the lies. Does he now regret that?

In any case, it’s now up to Berman to name those schemers and to exact consequences — criminal indictments.