Fraud Squad takes over Greenvale case

UPDATE:

How could an employee of the Housing Ministry hand over a house to a family without the knowledge of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC)? This is behind an investigation which has been placed in the hands of the Fraud Squad following initial inquiries into the incident in Greenvale, La Horquetta, where houses were severely damaged during the recent floods.

HDC managing director Brent Lyons told Sunday Newsday the internal investigation begun by him was now in the hands of the police as the probe nears its end. Lyons was appointed to lead the investigation after a couple and their two sons were evicted from their Alpha Avenue, Greenvale home on November 7. The couple claimed a “nice man” from the HDC gave them their documents to occupy the home and told them they could have broken into the premises after the keys given them did not work. They also were told to implicate another man if they were caught and to “set aside” money to pay their mortgage since, according to the “nice man”, there were some issues with HDC collecting the funds.

The “nice man” who is employed on a one-year contract at the ministry’s People’s Issues Resolution Co-ordinating Unit (PIRCU) has been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation. His contract ends on Friday and sources said it may not be renewed.
Apart from the couple, two other families were given eviction notices last week after further checks by HDC revealed they were squatters. The families were given until tomorrow to move out or be forcibly removed.

The illegal squatting in Greenvale was brought to light after the October 19 floods that devastated various parts of Trinidad. Following the flooding, most of the residents received between $15,000 and $20,000 in assistance from the Ministry of Social Development. Lyons said he did not know if the latest squatters received flood relief grants, but the couple helped by the ministry employee received $20,000 to cover damage to a refrigerator and a maxi taxi which were under their elevated home.

Six families, so far, have requested relocation from Greenvale following the floods. At least 40 contractors have been hired to repair damaged houses. When asked what was the budgeted cost, Lyons said he had a figure in mind but preferred not to disclose it. He said each of the 400-plus houses requires different repairs and estimating the cost will be difficult. He added though that there was a three-step phase to ensure value for money. The first step was for the contractor to visit the houses with the tenants to identify the problems followed by two other walk-throughs with both parties and an HDC official.

Asked what further steps the HDC was taking to ensure the flooding did not recur, Lyons said: “HDC has been part of the discussions (with Ministry of Works and Transport) and visits to the watercourses in that area and will continue. At this time, the HDC continues to focus on ensuring that the residents recover and are able to rehabilitate their homes. As such, our Recovery Service Centre (located in a house in Greenvale) remains operational and will continue to be operational until we are comforted that our support services to the community are no longer required.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

How could an employee of the Housing Ministry hand over a house to a family without the knowledge of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC)? This is behind an investigation which has been placed in the hands of the Fraud Squad following initial inquiries into the incident in Greenvale, La Horquetta, where houses were severely damaged during the recent floods.

HDC managing director Brent Lyons told Newsday the internal investigation begun by him was now in the hands of the police as the probe nears its end. Lyons was appointed to lead the investigation after a couple and their two sons were evicted from their Alpha Avenue, Greenvale home on November 7. The couple claimed a "nice man" from the HDC gave them their documents to occupy the home and told them they could have broken into the premises after the keys given them did not work. They also were told to implicate another man if they were caught and to "set aside" money to pay their mortgage since, according to the "nice man", there were some issues with HDC collecting the funds.

The "nice man" who is employed on a one-year contract at the ministry's People’s Issues Resolution Co-ordinating Unit (PIRCU) has been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation. His contract ends on Friday and sources said it may not be renewed.