MONTGOMERY, Ala, – A former Brundidge Police Chief has been ordered to forfeit three residential properties connected to a scheme to fraudulently obtain federal pandemic assistance funds.
On January 21, 2026, a federal judge entered a final order of forfeiture against Samuel Cornelius Green, 51, requiring him to forfeit his interest in three rental properties located in Troy, Alabama. The forfeiture follows Green’s guilty plea to illegally receiving funds through the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP).
The federal government implemented ERAP in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to provide financial assistance to households unable to pay rent or utilities, as well as to landlords seeking reimbursement for tenants’ unpaid rent during the pandemic.
According to Green’s plea agreement and other court records, beginning in March 2021, Green submitted multiple ERAP applications containing false and misleading information regarding tenants, rental arrangements, and payment histories in order to obtain funds to which he was not entitled. In some of the fraudulent applications, Green submitted counterfeit and altered utility bills. The scheme continued through November 2021.
In October 2025, Green pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His co-conspirator, Schemillia Levera Fenn, of Troy, Alabama, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for her role in the scheme.
At sentencing hearings held on January 14, 2026, the court ordered Green and Fenn to pay $118,175 in restitution to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The court also imposed a $1,000 fine against Green.
The Department of the Treasury's Office of Inspector General investigated this case, with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle R. Turner, Russell T. Duraski, and J. Patrick Lamb prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Middle District of Alabama — U.S. Department of Justice press release.