Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Florida woman scammed rent from NYCHA while living 1,000 miles away, prosecutors say
By
Liam Quigley
Published Mar 28, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Google Maps
By
Liam Quigley
Published Mar 28, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A Florida woman is facing years in prison if convicted of subletting her subsidized Bronx apartment while telling city authorities she was making as little as $24 a year.
Australia Gonzalez, 65, collected rent payments from tenants in her subsidized apartment in the Bronx from 2019 to 2024, according to the city’s Department of Investigation. She’s accused of filing affidavits stating she was unemployed, making her eligible for thousands of dollars in federal rental subsidies.
In reality, prosecutors say, she was living in balmy Hialeah, Florida just outside Miami, while collecting rent money from subletters more than 1,000 miles away. The Bronx apartment was paid for through the federal Section 8 rental assistance program that's meant for low-income residents as an alternative to homelessness, according to investigators.
Cops arrested Gonzalez in the Bronx Thursday, according to records. Prosecutors say she tricked NYCHA into overpaying her rent to the tune of more than $50,000.
“This defendant, a Section 8 recipient, obtained tens of thousands of dollars in rental subsidies to which she was not entitled, by omitting and misrepresenting to NYCHA key facts about her residency and household income, according to the charges,” Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said in a statement.
Gonzalez collected rent from tenants in her Bronx apartment starting in November 2019, with one tenant paying $800 a month while another who moved there in April 2022 and stayed until November 2023 paid between $750 and $800 a month, prosecutors allege in court records.
Gonzalez pleaded not guilty in Bronx Criminal Court on Thursday to a slew of charges including filing a false instrument and grand larceny, according to court records. She was released without bail and is due back in court in May.
A lawyer for Gonzalez declined to comment on the allegations.
Tagged
crime
housing
nycha
bronx
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .