Federal Indictment Charges Former Chicago Housing Authority Director and Construction Company Owner With Engaging in $4.8 Million Kickback Scheme

CHICAGO - A former property director for the Chicago Housing Authority was given more than $421,000 in kickbacks from the owner of a construction company in exchange for steering that owner more than $4.8 million in construction and renovation work at CHA properties, according to an indictment returned today in federal court in Chicago.

The indictment accuses RYAN ROSS, formerly a Director in the CHA's Property and Asset Management Department, of receiving the kickbacks in 2023 and 2024 from VANESSA RHODES, the President of Bell's Better Buildings, Inc., a Chicago company that did business as Twenty Eleven Construction, Inc. In exchange for the kickbacks, Ross used his official position as a Director at the CHA to fraudulently award construction, renovation, and other work to Twenty Eleven Construction and another company affiliated with Rhodes, the indictment states. As part of the scheme, Ross and Rhodes also caused Rhodes's husband to falsely represent himself to CHA property managers as an employee of the affiliated company who would purportedly complete the work on CHA units, the indictment states.

Ross and Rhodes concealed the fraud scheme, including Ross's financial interest in the CHA work he awarded to Twenty Eleven Construction and the affiliated company, by submitting false documents to the CHA, including proposals, scopes of work, and invoices, the indictment states. Ross spent some of the kickback money to purchase a vehicle for himself and pay for repairs and renovations on his home, the indictment states.

The indictment charges Ross, 50, of Bolingbrook, Ill., and Rhodes, 47, of Chicago, with eight counts of honest services fraud, each of which is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. Arraignments in federal court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Machelle Jindra, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, and Kathryn Richards, Inspector General of the CHA. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Prashant Kolluri and Hanna Helwig.

"Corruption in the awarding of public housing contracts undermines trust, distorts competition, and diverts already scarce resources," said U.S. Attorney Boutros. "Holding individuals accountable when they exploit their positions for personal gain is essential to protecting the integrity of our public institutions, ensuring that taxpayer funds are properly safeguarded, and making sure that everyday people in need of public housing assistance get the support they are entitled to under the programs. I urge anyone with knowledge of misconduct in the procurement of public contracts to report it to law enforcement; your vigilance is critical to protecting the fairness and transparency our taxpayers and everyday citizens deserve."

"Ryan Ross and Vanessa Rhodes allegedly took advantage of a position of public trust to engage in a kickback scheme to enrich themselves," said HUD-OIG SAC Jindra. "Their scheme corrupted the fair and competitive contracting process and undermined the confidence in the integrity of HUD-funded programs. HUD-OIG will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable individuals who misuse public office for unlawful personal enrichment.

"Since the beginning of this investigation, the CHA-OIG has worked side-by-side with federal law enforcement to hold Ross and Rhodes accountable for their egregious corruption," said CHA IG Richards. "They hijacked a program meant to repair and preserve Chicago's already scarce public housing, diverting public funds to enrich themselves. We are grateful to HUD-OIG and the U.S. Attorney's Office for aggressively pursuing this case and helping us expose and eliminate fraud in CHA programs."

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.