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On the heels of a concerning audit of the Glennville Housing Authority, records reveal that one of the questioned contractors is the former Executive Director of another housing authority who was terminated after an equally damning financial audit.
TheGeorgiaVirtue reported on Sunday that the Glennville Housing Authority audit revealed more than $441,000 in questionable expenditures, concerns of fraud, and documentation of public funds utilized on private residences. The audit placed the Executive Director Leslie Clinton (formerly Ellis) and Office Manager Stephanie Thomas squarely at the center of the investigation, along with a handful of independent contractors. One of those contractors was Yashiaca Brown who, according to the audit, was paid more than $20,000 for consulting services without providing detailed documentation on the work provided to the GHA.
Previous Co-Workers
Brown and Leslie Ellis/Clinton worked at the Hazlehurst Housing Authority together before Ellis/Clinton moved on to the Glennville Housing Authority and Brown became the Executive Director of the McRae-Helena Housing Authority. Both also reside in Hazlehurst in Jeff Davis County, according to public records.
Explosive Audit for McRae Housing Authority
The McRae Housing Authority’s audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, identified 13 material weaknesses, including allegations of theft of federal funds, unauthorized payments to employees, questionable vendor invoices, missing property, and inadequate oversight by the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.
The audit was conducted by Chang & Company CPAs and issued March 19, 2026.
Unauthorized Payments and Allegations of Theft of Federal Funds
Among the most serious findings in the audit was Yashiaca Brown’s supposed circumvention of internal financial controls to issue $164,853 in unauthorized payments to herself and another employee, Keyonna Eason.
According to the audit, Brown issued checks totaling $136,601 to herself and $28,252 to another employee for retirement and accrued leave benefits. While the payments required approval from the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, no retirement had been approved so when Board members refused to sign the checks, Brown submitted an unauthorized letter to the bank removing the approved signers and replacing them with two other Board members.
The new signers endorsed the checks and they were cashed by Brown and Eason. Those Board members were later removed from the Board. Auditors described the transactions as “theft by taking” and “an egregious misuse of federal funds.”
The audit also documented checks exceeding the authority’s $1,501 dual-signature threshold that contained only one signature, checks that cleared the bank without any signatures, and checks allegedly split into smaller payments to circumvent signature requirements.
Auditors recommended that the housing authority seek legal counsel on how to recover the funds.
Questionable Vendor Payments, Duplicate Invoices, and Suspected Fraud
Auditors identified numerous deficiencies involving vendor payments and disbursements which brought about questions regarding the legitimacy of the expenditures.
The findings included:
- Multiple payments for the same invoices or services.
- Nine checks issued for suspected fictitious invoices involving the same work.
- Payments supported by invoices listing invalid or nonexistent addresses.
- Evidence that invoices were created on housing authority computers.
- Reimbursements supported by receipts that had already been paid or were outdated.
- Missing checks that had cleared the bank but were unavailable for examination.
- Inconsistent or inflated vendor payments.
- Payments to a contractor who lacked liability insurance.
Missing Equipment and Inadequate Records
The audit also identified multiple pieces of property that could not be accounted for, including two Kawasaki lawn mowers valued at $14,224, a $6,800 pressure washer, a $10,920 portable building, and a postage meter valued at $17,187. A utility trailer was also missing, along with power tools auditors had observed during previous audits.The four assets with listed values totaled $49,131, excluding the trailer and tools.
The authority was unable to provide a complete inventory listing that would allow auditors to determine the disposition of the missing property.
Rent Collections and Tenant Records
The audit identified widespread deficiencies involving rent collections, tenant accounts, and the handling of cash. Specifically:
- Rent collections were not deposited in accordance with the authority’s own policies, which required deposits daily when possible or at least twice weekly.
- Employees were bypassing its accounting software and using separate methods to track tenant payments and deposits.
- Employees accepted cash payments despite policies prohibiting such and the documentation on those payments was lacking.
- Some payments were accepted through Cash App and Venmo
- Payments were received for overnight guests staying in a housing authority “hospitality unit.”
- Errors in those spreadsheets prevented auditors from determining whether the balances were accurate.
Payroll and Employee Compensation Irregularities
Auditors found overlapping payroll periods in which Brown issued checks to herself and another employee, resulting in overpayments.
Payroll taxes were not consistently remitted on time, and one employee received both W-2 wages and 1099 contractor payments during the same fiscal year.
The audit also cited a HUD compliance review finding that Brown and another employee were working approximately 20 hours per week while receiving full-time salaries and accruing full-time benefits. The personnel policy required employees to work at least 32 hours per week to qualify as full-time.
Board Oversight, Missing Records, and Document Destruction
Auditors also placed significant responsibility for the authority’s operational failures on the Board of Commissioners.
The audit stated that the lack of Board oversight contributed to noncompliance with federal regulations, financial irregularities, and issues with operational effectiveness. Auditors concluded that the Housing Authority had failed to address large outstanding tenant balances, incorrect rent calculations, improper handling of security deposits, unauthorized checks, and alleged misuse of funds by Yashiaca Brown.
“In effect, based on lack of board oversight, federal property and federal funds have continued to be misused due to inaction of the Board of Commissioners,” the audit stated.
The authority also operated without documentation of an approved annual operating budget, leaving auditors unable to verify that financial activities were conducted under a formally approved spending plan. Board meeting minutes were missing or incomplete, and there were often insufficient documents for auditors to review regarding Board decisions.
Brown’s records were in “disarray” and there was evidence of document destruction, auditors wrote.
Not New
The FY 2024 audit flagged similar issues and even pointed out a tenant who served as Board chairman, with the absence of income verification and an incorrectly calculated rent amount. When the FY 2025 audit was completed, several of the FY 2024 issues were still unresolved.
Departure of Brown, Replacement of a New Director
Ultimately, in July 2025, the Housing Authority Board parted ways with Brown. According to public records obtained by TGV, Brown was dismissed by the Housing Authority after a recommendation from officials at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. Records also indicate that HUD told then-city manager for McRae-Helena that HUD would withhold funding from McRae Housing Authority if they did not dismiss Brown and Eason.
Her work in question with the Glennville Housing Authority was during FY 2026, which began April 1, 2025 and ended on March 31, 2026.
The GBI told TheGeorgiaVirtue on Monday that the state agency has no active investigation into the McRae Housing Authority. Further inquiry by TGV, however, revealed that the FBI is currently investigating the matter. The City of McRae-Helena confirmed to TGV that the Housing Authority is under federal investigation, also sharing that the city has fully cooperated with law enforcement officials since the discovery of the discrepancies.
