Ohio company owner ordered to pay more than $90,000 on fraud charges

Dayton, Ohio (WDTN) — A Tip City man pleaded guilty to fraud, was sentenced to prison, and was ordered to pay more than $90,000.

Antoine Drains, 43, ran Freedom for Living Property Management LLC in Tip City. The company owned and landed numerous rental properties in Dayton.

From June 2020 to December 2020, Mr. Drains lied. Miami Valley Community Action Partnership The purpose, according to a release by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kenneth Parker, was to improperly collect emergency rental assistance for real estate.

Mr. Drains sent a false landlord declaration that concealed the material fact that certain tenants were already paying a significant portion of their rent through federally funded housing vouchers, the release said. ing.

Additionally, Mr. Drains fraudulently applied for and received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits from the Ohio Department of Employment and Family Services, collecting about $30,000, the release said. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud in March 2023.

On Tuesday, July 18, Drains was sentenced in federal district court to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $94,942 in damages.