Woman Charged in Housing Scams

New York, NY —

Nearly two dozen low-income residents from Manhattan and the Bronx say an unscrupulous realtor swindled them out of their life savings. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports:

REPORTER: Mario Rodriguez says he gave Josie Almonte nearly $6,000 to find him an apartment he could rent with a federal housing voucher called Section eight. Rodriguez says he waited 16 years to get the housing subsidy and saw it as a way to move his family out of the cramped one bedroom apartment they all shared:

RODRIGUEZ: My two daughters were so excited. Everyone was excited at home but you know the history. She's a she's a liar. She took the money and never get what she promised to get for us.

REPORTER: While Rodriguez's voucher expired, he says the housing authority agreed to extend it once it became clear he had been scammed. Almonte has been charged with several counts of grand larceny and criminal impersonation. She's currently out on bail and her attorney declined to comment. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.