Ex-State Official Sentenced in Quake Fraud
A former state housing official who sought more than $2 million in federal disaster relief and used some of the money to buy jewelry and other luxuries has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, concluding the biggest fraud prosecution of the Northridge earthquake.
Thomas E. Bell, 38, of Studio City was also ordered to pay a $350,000 fine after he pleaded guilty Monday to four felony counts of mail fraud, making false statements to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and obstructing a federal audit.
“This is the one misstep Mr. Bell has made in an otherwise exemplary life,” said his attorney, Donald Etra, who sought a sentence of community service.
Bell, president of Bell Diversified Development, has built low-income housing for 20 years. He was appointed deputy director of the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development in 1983.
Bell was charged by federal prosecutors in April 1996 after a yearlong investigation by the office of the inspector general and HUD. He pleaded guilty to four felony crimes in June 1996.
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