AUBURN — A Lewiston couple convicted of defrauding the federal government out of more $46,000 in housing subsidies by not disclosing substantial income and real estate holdings have been sentenced.

Roda Abdi was sentenced Tuesday to serve 10 months of a four-year sentence. Her husband, Ali-Nassir Ahmed, was sentenced to serve nine months of a four-year sentence. Both received three years of probation.

They were convicted last year.

Prosecutors say the couple accepted U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidies for which they weren’t eligible. The couple lived in a federally subsidized apartment while they owned and operated a profitable market and bought multiple properties with cash.

Prosecutors say the couple has shown little remorse.

The Sun Journal reports that defense attorneys argued for lighter sentences, saying their clients had no criminal records.


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