Latest news with #USDepartmentofHousingandUrbanDevelopment
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Siouxland tribes receiving federal home-funding grants
(KCAU) — Three Native American tribes in Siouxland received grants for affordable housing activities from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska obtained more than $5.2 million, while the Winnebago Tribe was awarded a little over $2 million. The Santee Sioux Nation received more than $1 million. The money comes from $1.1 billion in housing block grant funding for tribes nationwide. If you'd like to see a full list of tribes awarded funds, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Siouxland tribes receiving federal home-funding grants
(KCAU) — Three Native American tribes in Siouxland received grants for affordable housing activities from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska obtained more than $5.2 million, while the Winnebago Tribe was awarded a little over $2 million. The Santee Sioux Nation received more than $1 million. The money comes from $1.1 billion in housing block grant funding for tribes nationwide. If you'd like to see a full list of tribes awarded funds, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sky News AU
15-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Oil tycoon busted at lavish Utah mega-mansion, accused of working with Mexican cartels in $466 million scheme
A Utah oil magnate was arrested along with his wife in a dramatic raid on their opulent, 27,000-square-foot mansion after allegedly smuggling more than $300 million (AUD$466 million) worth of oil from Mexico to the US with the help of drug cartels, according to reports. James and Kelly Jensen were arrested on April 23 by US Marshals, who used battering rams to bust through the doors of the couple's $9.2 million mansion outside Salt Lake City, KSLTV reported. 'They were unwilling to come out,' Assistant US Attorney Michael Hess said of the family, which has deep political ties — Kelly's father, Gordon Walker, worked in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Ronald Reagan, while her mother, Carlene Walker, was a Utah state senator, according to KVEO. Just days earlier on April 17, the Jensens were indicted on charges they conspired to buy and smuggle more than 2,800 shipments of stolen oil from Mexico into the US as part of an alleged scheme that began three years ago, according to the feds. The Jensens' company made payments for the crude oil to 'businesses in Mexico that operate only through the permission of Mexican criminal organizations,' according to the feds. The feds alleged the family used their ill-gotten gains to buy a new home and cars — and have moved to seize them. Their sons Zachary and Max were also allegedly in on it and were also indicted, though it is unclear if they were arrested at the mountainside mansion with their parents. The family owns and operates Arroyo Terminals, a Texas company that buys and sells crude oil at a property just miles from the US border in Rio Hondo. Arroyo Terminals was raided by federal agents on the same day the family was arrested, with employees being handcuffed and questioned about the business's practices. 'We don't know about that,' one employee told CBS 4 News after the raid. 'We're just in charge of unloading the trucks and loading the barges.' 'When it comes to the aspect of knowing where this oil's coming from or what company or what part of Mexico or anything like that, we were always out of the loop,' another work told Border Report. The Jensens were detained and taken to the Salt Lake City Jail, but despite prosecutors' fears of being a flight risk, were back home within days after their attorney, John Huber, agued they had deep roots in the community and weren't going anywhere. 'They're active in their church. They're active in their community. They come from a stalwart Utah family,' Huber said. '[James'] in-laws have served in public service for decades and they don't want to throw that all out of the window.' Huber also disputed the feds' claim that the family refused to come easily during the raid. 'Mr. Jensen and Mrs. Jensen's story about that is very different,' Huber said, claiming the couple agreed to come out but that the feds busted down their door anyway. The family business was previously accused of buying stolen oil in 2011. In that case, James Jensen was sued by a Mexican government-owned oil company for allegedly traveling to Mexico to buy fuel from cartels. Jensen denied all wrongdoing and that case was dropped two years later. After their April arrest, the Jensens were ordered to forfeit all money they'd earned from the alleged scheme, along with new cars, a second home, their business, and bank accounts — all worth about $300 million, KSLTV reported. Both sons pleaded not guilty. All were also charged with money laundering spending conspiracy, and aiding and abetting smuggling goods into the US. They face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. Originally published as Oil tycoon busted at lavish Utah mega-mansion, accused of working with Mexican cartels in $466 million scheme
New York Post
12-05-2025
- New York Post
Feds bash down door at lavish Utah mega-mansion, arrest oil magnate accused of working with cartels to import $300 million in illegal Mexican crude
A Utah oil magnate was arrested along with his wife in a dramatic raid on their opulent 27,000-square-foot mansion after allegedly smuggling more than $300 million worth of oil from Mexico to the US with the help of drug cartels, according to reports. James and Kelly Jensen were arrested on April 23 by US Marshals, who used battering rams to bust through the doors of the couple's $9.2 million mansion in outside Salt Lake City, KSLTV reported. 'They were unwilling to come out,' Assistant US Attorney Michael Hess said of the family, which has deep political ties — Kelly's father, Gordon Walker, worked in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Ronald Reagan, while her mother, Carlene Walker, was a Utah state Senator, according to KVEO. Advertisement 3 The Jensen's 33,000 square-foot mansion on a mountainside in Sandy, Utah, that the feds raided in late April KSL TV Just days earlier on April 17, the Jensens were indicted on charges they conspired to buy and smuggle more than 2,800 shipments of stolen oil from Mexico into the US as part of an alleged scheme that began three years ago, according to the feds. The Jensens' company made payments for the crude oil to 'businesses in Mexico that operate only through the permission of Mexican criminal organizations,' according to the feds. Advertisement The feds alleged the family used their ill-gotten gains to buy a new home and cars — and have moved to seize them. Their sons Zachary and Max, were also allegedly in on it and were also indicted, though it is unclear if they were arrested at the mountainside mansion with their parents. The family owns and operates Arroyo Terminals, a Texas company that buys and sells crude oil at a property just miles from the US border in Rio Hondo. Arroyo Terminals was raided by federal agents on the same day that the family was arrested, with employees being handcuffed and questioned about the business' practices. Advertisement 'We don't know about that,' one employee told CBS 4 News after the raid. 'We're just in charge of unloading the trucks and loading the barges.' 'When it comes to the aspect of knowing where this oil's coming from or what company or what part of Mexico or anything like that, we were always out of the loop,' another work told Border Report. 3 James Jensen and his family own an oil buying and selling company in south Texas Arroyo Terminals The Jensens were detained and taken to the Salt Lake City Jail, but despite prosecutors' fears of being a flight risk were back home within days after their attorney, John Huber, agued they had deep roots in the community and weren't going anywhere. Advertisement 'They're active in their church. They're active in their community. They come from a stalwart Utah family,' Huber said. '[James'] in-laws have served in public service for decades and they don't want to throw that all out of the window.' Huber also disputed the feds' claim that the family refused to come easily during the raid. 'Mr. Jensen and Mrs. Jensen's story about that is very different,' Huber said, claiming the couple agreed to come out but that the feds busted down their door anyway. 3 Federal agents say the Jensens didn't come out when they came knocking — so the mansion's door was battered down KSL TV The family business was previously accused by of buying stolen oil in 2011. In that case, James Jensen was sued by a Mexican government-owned oil company for allegedly travelling to Mexico to buy fuel from cartels. Jensen denied all wrongdoing and that case was dropped two years later. After their April arrest, the Jensens were ordered to forfeit all money they'd earned from the alleged scheme, along with new cars, a second home, their business, and bank accounts — all worth about $300 million, KSLTV reported. Advertisement Both sons pleaded not guilty. All were also charged with money laundering spending conspiracy, and aiding and abetting smuggling goods into the US. They face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
Business Insider
10-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
These boomers rely on housing vouchers to stay out of homelessness. Trump is proposing big cuts.
After Richard Hale had his left leg amputated last October, he struggled to find a new place to live that could accommodate a wheelchair and that he could afford. An Air Force veteran who worked in construction for much of his career, Hale, 64, hasn't been able to work since he began experiencing vascular issues in the summer of 2023. And, for years, his housing was precarious: he lived with his brother, who also suffers from chronic health issues, in a mobile home an hour northwest of Portland, Maine. Hale relies on his girlfriend to help him with basic daily activities, but his landlord wouldn't allow three people to live in their mobile home and demanded he move out. "I'm just one bill, one emergency situation, away from being food-insecure or housing-insecure," said Hale, whose income consists only of his monthly $1,675 Social Security disability checks. Luckily, in March, he was approved for a Housing Choice Voucher through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, and in late April, he moved into an accessible and affordable unit in a 55+ building. Hale is now one of about 2.3 million US households that rely on housing vouchers. A growing number of voucher holders are older and living on fixed incomes. Tenants with vouchers pay about 30% of their income toward rent, while the US Department of Housing and Urban Development covers the rest, up to what it determines to be fair market rent. But the future of vouchers is uncertain. President Donald Trump's budget proposal asks to slash HUD funding by about 44%, with a $26.7 billion cut in funding — a 43% reduction — for rental assistance, which includes vouchers, public housing, and aid for older people and those with disabilities. The proposal, which would need to be approved by Congress, would replace the housing voucher program with block grants and impose two-year limits on rental assistance for healthy adults. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner, praised the budget proposal in a statement, arguing that federal housing programs have become "too bloated and bureaucratic to efficiently function." HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett pointed to a recent statement Turner made, saying that his goal is to "get people off of subsidy, and live a life of self-sustainability," while supporting those who require assistance. Trump's director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, has previously called for an end to all housing vouchers, arguing the program "brings with it crime, decreased property values, and results in dependency, and subsidized irresponsibility." But Hale's holding out hope that Trump's cuts in federal spending will translate to bigger Social Security checks for people like him. "They may find extra money to give everybody on Social Security a boost, because, God knows, you can't live on a monthly basis on Social Security," he said. Trump and Congressional Republicans have not announced any plans to make major increases to Social Security benefits. A growing low-income elderly population There are already far more low-income households than housing vouchers. Only about one in four Americans who are eligible for a voucher receive one. A recent Zillow report found there are almost 17 million more severely rent-burdened households than available vouchers. The average wait time to get the assistance, which is doled out by local public housing authorities, is two and a half years. The program also faces challenges. A declining number of landlords across the US accept them, and a growing number of voucher recipients can't find a landlord who will take them. While it's illegal in some places to discriminate against voucher holders, the practice isn't outlawed everywhere. And many landlords say the administrative process is simply too slow or burdensome. But some housing policy experts say vouchers are a particularly effective form of housing assistance. They give low-income people more power to choose the neighborhood, building, and unit they want to live in — and to stay there, creating stability and better work and educational opportunities for themselves and their families. It offers an alternative to traditional government-owned and operated public housing, which is often underfunded and dilapidated. With his voucher, Hale will pay $493 per month in rent for an accessible one-bedroom apartment in a brand new 55+ subsidized housing development not far from him in Westbrook, Maine. That leaves him just over $1,000 a month for all his other expenses. So, despite ongoing health issues, he also hopes to start working part-time as soon as he can. "I've always been one of those people that believes when one door closes, another one opens, eventually," he said. Robin Spear, 62, hasn't had an easy time living in public housing in Oklahoma City. But after a year of experiencing homelessness, she was desperate for any home she could get. "I'm grateful for the roof over my head, I'm not complaining about that at all," Spear told BI. But she doesn't feel safe in her building, which she says suffers from deferred maintenance issues and disrespectful neighbors. "My daughter won't let my grandkids even come over here." The search for affordable senior housing isn't over for Tracey Lee, 67, It became increasingly clear to her that she needed to find subsidized housing as her landlord repeatedly raised the rent on her one-bedroom apartment in Long Beach, California, in recent years. Lee had to stop working last year when she began suffering from kidney failure and went on dialysis. Lee says she relies chiefly on her Social Security checks, after spending much of her retirement nest egg on medical care. "The bills are exceeding what I get monthly," Lee said. "It's a month-by-month situation." Luckily, she was recently approved for a subsidized apartment in a senior building in Long Beach and is supposed to move in about six months. Her new rent will be just a third of her income. In the meantime, Lee hopes to go back to work and is looking for a full-time remote job in healthcare customer service, mortgage lending, or counseling — all industries she's previously worked in.
