A former Tallahassee Housing Authority employee is facing federal charges after prosecutors say she took about $378,000 from a program designed to help low-income families pay their rent. Federal officials say the employee used her position to change payment information and send housing assistance money into her own bank accounts. The case comes at a difficult time for the housing authority, which is already dealing with federal funding shortages and thousands of people needing affordable housing assistance.
Employee Accused of Taking $378,000
Lekishaann Huggins, 45, of Tallahassee, Florida, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with an alleged fraud scheme involving the Tallahassee Housing Authority.
Huggins worked with the agency’s Housing Choice Voucher program, commonly associated with Section 8 housing assistance. The program helps lower-income households afford private housing by providing rental assistance that is generally paid to landlords.
Federal prosecutors accuse Huggins of using her position to take approximately $378,000 that should have gone toward housing assistance. She faces 39 counts of bank fraud, four counts of money laundering, two counts of filing a false tax return, and one count of aggravated identity theft. The charges are allegations. Huggins is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
How the Alleged Scheme Worked
According to the allegations reported by Moneywise, Huggins had access to payment information connected to the housing voucher program. Prosecutors allege she changed landlords’ banking information and replaced it with her own. This allegedly caused money that was supposed to be sent to landlords to instead go into accounts she controlled.
She is also accused of using information belonging to former housing authority tenants to create false voucher claims. The money from those claims was then allegedly directed into her bank accounts. The alleged activity took place between 2023 and 2025. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General.
Housing Money Was Supposed to Help Families
The money involved in the case was connected to a program created to help people who may otherwise struggle to afford housing. The Tallahassee Housing Authority serves Tallahassee and the surrounding Leon County area. Its programs receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and provide housing assistance to lower-income households.
The Housing Choice Voucher program helps qualifying families rent homes in the private market. Instead of families having to cover the entire rent themselves, the program provides a subsidy to help with the cost.
That makes the alleged fraud especially serious because the money involved was intended to help people pay for housing. The Tallahassee Housing Authority has said it cooperated with federal authorities during the investigation.
Housing Authority Is Already Facing Funding Problems
The case comes while the Tallahassee Housing Authority is dealing with another major problem: not having enough federal money to meet local demand. Moneywise reported that the agency had to delay some Housing Choice Voucher payments in late 2025 because of funding shortages from HUD. The housing authority said that shortage was separate from the alleged fraud case.
The problem continued into 2026. The Tallahassee Housing Authority is authorized to provide approximately 2,700 vouchers, but only around 1,700 were being used, according to figures reported by Moneywise. The agency said federal budget cuts meant some vouchers could not be reissued after families left the program.
At the same time, people continue to need help. The waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher program is currently closed. Moneywise reported that it has been closed for most of the period since December 2020, except for a short reopening in 2024. That means there are families looking for affordable housing assistance while the agency has fewer resources available to help them.
Federal Charges Could Bring Serious Prison Time
The federal charges against Huggins carry serious possible penalties. If convicted, she could face up to 30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud count. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a possible two-year sentence that would run consecutively to other prison time.
Each money laundering charge carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years, while each false tax return charge carries up to three years. Prosecutors may also seek restitution and the forfeiture of assets.
However, those numbers are the maximum penalties allowed under federal law and do not mean that would be the actual sentence if she were convicted. Her jury trial is scheduled for September 8, 2026, in federal court. The case also raises questions about how government agencies protect public money. According to Moneywise, Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe questioned how one employee allegedly had the ability to change payment information without another person checking the change. He argued that requiring two people to approve important financial changes could help prevent similar situations.
For families depending on housing assistance, the issue goes beyond the criminal case. Affordable housing programs already have limited funding, and every dollar lost to fraud is money that cannot be used to help someone pay for a place to live. The federal indictment is only the beginning of the legal process. Prosecutors will have to prove the allegations in court, and Huggins remains presumed innocent unless she is found guilty.
