ST. LOUIS – A Moberly, Missouri man was sentenced to 27 months in prison Tuesday and ordered to repay the $284,000 that he fraudulently obtained via a pandemic rental assistance scam.
Steven W. Hendren, 34, submitted numerous fraudulent applications for State Assistance for Housing Relief (SAFHR) rental assistance to the Missouri Housing Development Commission from March 2021 through June 2024. Hendren falsely listed himself as a landlord in the loan applications and included fake lease agreements and financial statements. He also submitted other applications in which he fraudulently inflated rent amounts and altered lease agreements and financial statements.
The SAFHR program was designed to provide emergency assistance for rent, utility bills and other expenses during the pandemic. Hendren received $284,840, much of which he used for personal expenses including the purchase of a 2020 GMC Yukon.
Hendren pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of wire fraud.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman prosecuted the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division ('Fraud Division'). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.