PORTLAND, Maine — A former manager of an apartment complex in Portland pleaded guilty in court Wednesday to embezzlement.
Kelly Ballinger, 57, of Glenburn, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to stealing funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and conspiracy to alter money orders, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine.
Ballinger was a former property manager for an apartment complex in Portland that received funding from the HUD, court documents said. She reportedly stole rent payments made by HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program tenants from roughly December 2017 to June 2021.
"Ballinger would direct the tenants to pay their rent with a blank postal money order and then would place her name or that of fellow employee Kathleen Conway, 70, on the payee line, adding information such as 'groceries' on the memo line to suggest the payments were reimbursements," the release stated. "In some instances, Ballinger would deflate the tenants’ income to as low as $0 so that HUD would pay a larger share of the rent to disguise shortfalls."
She now faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for the embezzlement charge. Ballinger also faces up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine for the money order charge. She may also be ordered to pay restitution to HUD.
Conway, Ballinger's former colleague, pleaded guilty to embezzlement on Aug. 23, 2023. She is awaiting sentencing.
This case was investigated by the HUD Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
