Former Whitefish Housing Authority director admits to embezzlement
Dwarne Hawkins, former executive director of the Whitefish Housing Authority, outside the Mountain View Manor apartment complex in Whitefish. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot FILE)
The former executive director of the Whitefish Housing Authority admitted in court Wednesday to embezzling at least $100,000 from the organization, which receives federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The defendant, Dwarne Lamont Hawkins, 46, pleaded guilty to theft from an organization receiving federal funding, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Hawkins faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Sentencing was set for Feb. 7, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy. Hawkins was released pending further proceedings.
In court documents, the government alleged that from about May 2023 to January 2024, while working as the executive director for the Whitefish Housing Authority, Hawkins embezzled from the organization.
The Whitefish Housing Authority provides housing options for low-income residents in Whitefish and received approximately $468,616 in federal funds from HUD during the period of the indictment.
Hawkins stole housing authority money by diverting and inflating payroll, fraudulently paying personal expenses with the Whitefish Housing Authority credit card and creating and paying fraudulent invoices to businesses over which he had control, the press release states.
As an example, in January 2024, Hawkins created bogus invoices from companies in which he held a controlling interest. Hawkins paid the invoices by fraudulently wiring money from the housing authority for $76,750 on Jan. 16, 2024 and for $23,250 on Jan. 22, 2024, for a total of $100,000. The investigation identified approximately $150,000 in restitution.
In a 2023 interview with the Whitefish Pilot, Hawkins said he previously worked for housing authorities in Baltimore and East St. Louis. He was hired as Whitefish Housing Authority's executive director in January 2023 and his tenure ended in March of this year.
Housing authority officials discovered the alleged fraud following Hawkins' departure, according to Riss Getts, the authority's acting executive director.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.