Zion woman denies cheating housing authority

A Zion woman accused of collecting more than $40,000 in public housing assistance she was not entitled to receive pleaded not guilty Thursday in Lake County circuit court.

Yolanda Collins, 36, faces up to five years in prison if convicted of state benefits fraud but would also be eligible for probation.

Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Hoffert said Collins received rent assistance for her residence in the 2500 block of West 29th Street through the Section 8 program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A HUD investigator discovered Collins had taken a job at the Home Depot in Waukegan in October 2001, Hoffert said, and continued to be employed there through the end of 2010.

Although Collins earned approximately $15,000 per year from the Home Depot job, Hoffert said, she never included that income in her yearly statement of earnings filed with the government.

HUD estimates it is due $40,022 in benefits paid to Collins over the years that would not have been paid if the Home Depot income had been disclosed.

Circuit Judge Fred Foreman scheduled a trial of the case for April 12 and ordered Collins, who is free on $2,500 bond, to appear in court March 7.