Ron Artest Caught Up In Sister's Welfare Fraud Probe

Ron Artest Investigation? Sister Could Face Fraud Charges



TheIndyChannel.com reports that Lakers forward Ron Artest is caught up in a welfare fraud investigation. According to the report, police raided the home of Latoya Holmes-Ivey, who claims no income and receives rent assistance from the government. However, Holmes-Ivey is Artest's sister, and authorities suspect she may have received financial assistance from her brother.

According to the Indianapolis Star, the executive director of the Indianapolis Housing Agency says Artest has not been accused of wrongdoing:

"As far as we are concerned, (Artest) is just a guy helping out his family," he said. "But it is his sister's responsibility to report it and try to recover some money if that's the case."

Even if no accusations have been made, a string of Thanksgiving-day Tweets from Artest suggest that police have investigated his property, although perhaps on an unrelated matter.






NBA Star, Sister Target Of Housing Fraud Probe


Former Indiana Pacers star Ron Artest and his sister are at the center of a welfare fraud investigation.

Police and housing authorities raided the home Latoya Holmes-Ivey and her three children rent at 336 E. Burgess Ave. Wednesday morning, 6News' Rafael Sanchez reported.

Holmes-Ivey was receiving taxpayer-supported rent assistance because she claimed she had no income, but investigators said she may have been getting money from her brother.

The tip came from a former CPA at Tennessee-based TriStar Sports and Entertainment, the company that represents Artest, who now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to court documents, the ex-employee sent an e-mail to the Housing and Urban Development Office in Indianapolis claiming that TriStar, under the direction of Artest, was using one of his bank accounts to pay all of Holmes-Ivey's bills.

The man requested to remain anonymous, saying that he could not, in good conscience, fail to report such an ethics infraction.

Housing authorities said that if the allegations are true, Holmes-Ivey would have used at least $34,000 in taxpayer money she was not entitled to.

"The source of the income doesn't matter. What matters is that she did not report the money," said Indianapolis Housing Agency Executive Director Bud Meyers, who would not say what investigators took from Holmes-Ivey's home.

Some neighbors said they were skeptical of Holmes-Ivey after learning who her brother was.

"I never understood why she was on assistance because of that, when she told me he was her brother," said Marcia Taylor. "The people who do need the assistance don't get it, when the people who don't need it get a lot of time."

"If you have a brother like that anyway, why do you to commit fraud or whatever?" said neighbor Filippo Borregine.

Neither Holmes-Ivey nor TriStar Sports and Entertainment returned calls for comment on Wednesday.






Artest's sister part of housing probe



Federal housing authorities are investigating claims that the sister of professional basketball player Ron Artest hid bill payments her brother made for her subsidized Eastside home.

Investigators searched Latoya Holmes-Ivey's home Wednesday, searching for evidence that Artest paid her utility bills and that she had failed to accurately report her income to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Holmes-Ivey could face fraud charges if she didn't report all her sources of income, said Rufus "Bud" Myers, executive director of the Indianapolis Housing Agency.

Neither Artest, a Los Angeles Lakers and former Indiana Pacers player, nor his sister have been accused of any wrongdoing, Myers said.

"As far as we are concerned, (Artest) is just a guy helping out his family," he said. "But it is his sister's responsibility to report it and try to recover some money if that's the case."

Wednesday's raid by Housing Agency police, HUD's office of inspector general and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is part of a larger, continuing probe that has led to dozens of arrests and evictions, said Steve Golden, the Housing Agency's assistant police chief.

Officials said Holmes-Ivey, 36, received $34,901 from HUD in rent vouchers and utility assistance from March 2006 to this month to live in two Indianapolis homes that are part of the federal Section 8 program. Authorities said they are focusing on allegations that Artest paid his sister's utility bills, instead of her using $6,571 in debit cards the government provided for those bills.

The probe was launched after police received an e-mail from someone who said he worked for Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group in Tennessee, which handles business for Artest. He said the firm made regular bill payments for Holmes-Ivey's utilities.

Police said they found several express mail packages from Tri Star to Holmes-Ivey during the search. One from Sept. 23 had return envelopes inside.

David Bauman, Artest's agent, said he had not been contacted by HUD or any law enforcement agency and was not aware of the allegations.

Holmes-Ivey, who was at her mother's house in Zionsville on Wednesday for the holiday, denied any wrongdoing and said she rarely speaks to her brother.

"I talk to him once in a blue moon and hardly ever ask him for anything," she said. "I'm my own person and take care of myself. Just because he is an NBA player doesn't mean he has to take care of me."

Holmes-Ivey said she occasionally will mention that she is short of cash for a bill, and "he'll take care of the balance."

She said she doesn't live in the raided house anymore but has been approved to move into another Section 8 house on the Westside on Jan. 1. She is staying with her mother until then.

Holmes-Ivey, Artest's oldest sister, moved to Indianapolis in 2006 from a subsidized home in New York City, where the Artests were raised. When she moved, her voucher eligibility was transferred to the Indianapolis Housing Agency.

Artest, who played for the Indiana Pacers from 2002 until 2006, lives in Beverly Hills, Calif. He recently sold the Carmel home where his mother lived, and she moved to Zionsville.

Holmes-Ivey pays $625 a month in rent for a three-story home south of the Irvington neighborhood, where she lives with her three children, according to a court affidavit seeking the search warrant.



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