United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS DARREN REAGAN
OF THEFT OF PUBLIC MONEY

DALLAS — A federal jury in Dallas has convicted Darren L. Reagan, 48, of Desoto, Texas, on all five counts of an indictment charging him with theft of public money, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Reagan faces a maximum statutory sentence of 50 years in prison, a $1.25 million fine and restitution. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn on October 4, 2008. He was placed on home confinement earlier this month after the government asked that his pre-trial release be revoked because he had made certain threatening statements to family members.

The government presented evidence at trial that from October 1, 2002, through September 1, 2007, Reagan knowingly stole approximately $45,000 in rental housing assistance payments from the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) in connection with the rental of certain property to his mother-in-law, Leatha Kirven. Reagan falsely claimed to the DHA that he had no blood, marital, or other familiar relationship to Ms. Kirven, and as such, caused DHA to pay him housing assistant payments to which he was not entitled.

Mrs. Kirven testified in a videotaped deposition taken this week from her hospital room that she knew that when she signed up for the Section 8 housing assistance with Mr. Reagan, that she knew it was against the rules. She also testified that she told federal agents, when questioned by them two years ago, that she knew it was wrong.

Darren Reagan testified in his own defense that he wasn’t aware of the rules prohibiting him from renting a Section 8 house to a relative and that he didn’t have time to read the fine print on the day he went with his elderly mother-in-law to the DHA so that should could sign up as a Section 8 tenant in a Red Bird area house he and his now-estranged wife owned.

Darren L. Reagan is also a defendant in the Dallas City Hall corruption investigation case, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion, two counts of extortion by public officials, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of tax evasion. That case is scheduled to go to trial in January 2009.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of HUD-OIG and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marcus Busch and Sarah Saldaña.

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