Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the indictment of JENNIFER JACQUES, 38, a licensed attorney and former Bronx County Assistant District Attorney from 2008-2012; her brother, SAMUEL JACQUES, 34; and their mother, MARIELLE JACQUES, 66, for defrauding the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”) and other city-contracted affordable housing providers. From October 1, 2017, to October 31, 2023, the defendants provided false information on applications to rent and own affordable housing units in a scheme that secured the family members hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits for which they were ineligible, or which they illegally obtained. The defendants are charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, among other related charges. 

The joint investigation was launched by the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”) and conducted in partnership with HPD.[1] 

“The affordable housing lottery is a crucial part of our city’s commitment to providing homes for New Yorkers of all backgrounds and incomes,” said District Attorney Bragg. “As alleged, this family manipulated that critical program to enrich themselves by lying and forging documents for years. We are laser-focused on ensuring integrity in our housing systems and protecting New York’s millions of tenants. I thank DOI and HPD for their partnership in investigating and enforcing this shared goal.” 

DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said, “As charged, these three defendants, one a former Assistant DA in the Bronx, engaged in a criminal scheme to obtain multiple affordable housing units in New York City, for which they were ineligible.  Their fraudulent conduct included obtaining and residing in housing in the name of an elderly, bedbound relative who lived elsewhere, submitting forged earning statements, and making false certifications as to the residents of affordable housing units, as alleged in the Indictment.  Affordable housing is a scarce resource in this City, and it is intended for eligible New Yorkers in need. I thank HPD for referring this matter to DOI, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their commitment to hold accountable those who would engage in corrupt schemes that deprive the City’s more vulnerable residents of valuable public resources.” 

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, the defendants’ scheme began in October 2017 when they submitted an application through NYC Housing Connect for affordable housing at 605 West 42nd Street in the name of Marie Thomas, MARIELLE JACQUES’ elderly, bedbound mother who was diagnosed with advanced dementia, and SAMUEL JACQUES. Because of her mobility disability, Ms. Thomas’s application was given priority review. With JENNIFER JACQUES acting pursuant to a power of attorney, the defendants submitted forged ADP earning statements for SAMUEL JACQUES, who was listed as the second household member on Ms. Thomas’s application, and submitted additional forged ADP earning statements during the 2019 recertification process. 

Marie Thomas’s application was approved for a one-bedroom apartment in June 2018. She was listed as a tenant alongside SAMUEL JACQUES and, eventually, Pierre Jacques (JENNIFER JACQUES’ and SAMUEL JACQUES’ father). In actuality, JENNIFER JACQUES resided in the apartment, and continued to do so for more than five years, despite being ineligible for affordable housing. While she paid approximately $40,000 to rent the apartment over the course of the scheme, a market-rate apartment would have cost her almost $310,000 for the same time period. In Spring 2023, JENNIFER JACQUES attempted to secure a two-bedroom apartment in the West 42nd Street building by claiming that Marie Thomas did not have enough space for her hospital bed in the one-bedroom apartment. She forged documentation, including altering a letter from a physician’s assistant, in her attempt to secure a larger apartment. 

While continuing to live in the West 42nd Street apartment, JENNIFER JACQUES rented out the 2098 Frederick Douglas Boulevard apartment she had purchased in 2011 with more than $383,000 in HPD subsidies in violation of HPD’s 15-year residency requirement. From August 15, 2018, to present, JENNIFER JACQUES has leased the Harlem apartment to four different sets of tenants, receiving more than $225,000 in rental payments. 

During this time period, SAMUEL JACQUES rented a second affordable housing unit on West 117th Street, in violation of HPD regulations requiring that he relinquish it when he purportedly moved into the West 42nd Street apartment. 

Beginning in at least July 2018, MARIELLE JACQUES was living in a third affordable housing unit on West 45th Street with her mother, Marie Thomas. MARIELLE JACQUES falsely reported on five separate annual tenant income certifications that she lived alone. Finally, beginning in July 2021, JENNIFER JACQUES and SAMUEL JACQUES provided false information to HPD and the Housing Partnership Development Corporation (“HPDC”) in an attempt to purchase a fourth affordable housing unit on West 43rd Street. They provided false residency information for Marie Thomas and Pierre Jacques as part of the application and represented to HPDC that Marie Thomas had personally signed documents notarized by JENNIFER JACQUES. HPDC asked HPD to confirm the veracity of the application. 

In January 2022, DOI began to investigate the application, and on February 22, 2022, informed HPD that it contained false residency information. On March 10, 2022, HPDC rejected SAMUEL JACQUES’ application because of its false claims. SAMUEL JACQUES appealed both HPD’s and HPDC’s decisions, and his appeals were denied. 

Assistant D.A. Jaime Hickey-Mendoza is handling the prosecution of the case under the supervision of Assistant D.A. Michael Ohm (Deputy Bureau Chief of the Rackets Bureau), Assistant D.A. Judy Salwen (Principal Deputy Bureau Chief of the Rackets Bureau), and Assistant D.A. Jodie Kane (Chief of the Rackets Bureau, Acting Chief of the Investigation Division). Trial Preparation Assistants Alexandra Millard and Erin Jengo-Quirk are assisting with the prosecution of the case. Associate Financial Investigator Joseph Dunn of the Forensic Accounting and Financial Investigations Unit also provided valuable assistance to the investigation, under the supervision of Irene Serrapica, Deputy Chief of FAFI, and Robert Demarest, Chief of FAFI. 

D.A. Bragg thanked HPD, and its Office of Legal Affairs; and DOI’s Office of the Inspector General for HPD, which investigated the matter, specifically Inspector General Michael Morris, and Confidential Investigator Eric Tyszka. 

At DOI, the case was investigated by Confidential Investigator Eric Tyszka and Deputy Inspector General Parvatee Persad-Tran of the Office of the Inspector General for HPD, and was supervised by Inspector General Michael Morris, Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives Christopher Ryan and Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations Dominick Zarrella. 

Defendant Information: 

JENNIFER JACQUES 

New York, NY 

Charges: 

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count 
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count 
• Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in The Second Degree, a class D felony, six counts 
• Forgery in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count 
• Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony, three counts 
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, sixteen counts 

 

SAMUEL JACQUES 

New York, NY 

Charges: 

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count 
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count 
• Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a class D felony, six counts 
• Forgery in the Second Degree, a class D felony, one count 
• Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, sixteen counts 

 

MARIELLE JACQUES 

New York, NY 

Charges: 

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count 
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Falsifying Business Records in The First Degree, a class E felony, five counts 

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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.