Madill Housing Authority

Madill, OK 2018--2021 Public Housing

HUD OIG Madill Police Department Financial Fraud Procurement Fraud

Penalty

$477,000

Outcome

Charley Rember Jr., former Executive Director of the Madill Housing Authority, was sentenced on January 26, 2022 to 8 years in prison (2 years suspended) and ordered to pay more than $477,000 in restitution and fines for embezzling over $450,000 in HUD funds to support his gambling habit.

Details

Madill Housing Authority — Executive Embezzlement (2018–2021)

Outcome: Charley Rember Jr., former Executive Director, was sentenced on January 26, 2022 to 8 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $477,000 in restitution and fines for embezzling over $450,000 in HUD housing authority funds.

The Madill Housing Authority is a small Public Housing Authority (PHA) in Madill, Oklahoma, that owns and operates 44 federally assisted public housing units. The authority receives HUD funding for operations and capital improvements on behalf of low-income residents.

Charley Rember Jr., 52, used his position as Executive Director to systematically divert government funds allocated to the Housing Authority for his personal use — specifically to support a gambling habit. The total amount embezzled exceeded $450,000, a remarkable sum given the small scale of the authority's operations.

HUD OIG investigators interviewed Rember, at which point he confessed to the crime and provided a written statement. He was arrested in July 2021 and charged with multiple counts of embezzlement. The case was investigated by the HUD OIG Office of Investigation with assistance from the HUD OIG Oklahoma City Office of Audit and the Madill Police Department.

Sentencing was conducted by Judge Wallace Coppedge in the District Court of Marshall County, Oklahoma. The sentence of 8 years (with 2 years suspended) and restitution of $477,000+ reflected the severity of the misuse of public housing funds intended for low-income residents.

Primary Source: Former Madill Housing Authority Executive Director Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison

How Crucible Prevents This

The Madill Housing Authority operated only 44 federally assisted units, making the scale of undetected embezzlement ($450,000+) particularly striking. Crucible Municipal controls for small PHAs include automated bank reconciliation alerts, mandatory dual-signature thresholds on disbursements, and periodic HUD reporting cross-checks. Real-time flagging of unusual spending patterns against HUD operating budgets would have detected the diversion far earlier than investigators did.

Source: Former Madill Housing Authority Executive Director Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Embezzlement of Over $450,000 of HUD Housing Authority Money — HUD OIG

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