A multi-year housing and Social Security fraud scheme has led to charges against two residents of the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Maliktra Derenorcourt, 27, and Philippe Oliver Gadie, 34, are facing a seven-count Superseding Indictment that alleges they used fake and stolen identities to fraudulently secure leases on multiple apartment units without making payments.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro described the operation as a “calculated fraud” that exploited the eviction system and caused significant financial harm throughout the area. The indictment indicates that Derenorcourt, Gadie, and others conspired to obtain numerous leases by employing stolen or fabricated Social Security numbers and fake employment letters. The scheme reportedly resulted in eviction proceedings for many of the involved apartment complexes, with losses currently estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The defendants allegedly took advantage of Washington, D.C.’s lengthy eviction process by submitting fraudulent lease applications in batches. During the course of the conspiracy, they also utilized Bitcoin and Cash App accounts linked to stolen identities to transfer funds among themselves. Gadie is noted to have opened a Cash App account using a victim’s personal information, conducting hundreds of transactions in that name.
Furthermore, the investigation revealed that Derenorcourt posed as the female victims of identity theft, and search warrants executed at their apartment uncovered numerous luxury fashion items. Gadie, a citizen of Côte d’Ivoire, is reported to be unlawfully present in the United States after overstaying a nonimmigrant visa.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit. The Washington, D.C. Fraud Cell, a multi-agency task force, is continuing to probe the extent and implications of this scheme.
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