Housing Boss Accused of Sexual Abuse Is Arrested in Bribery Scheme

The former head of one of the largest homeless shelter networks in New York — who was already under investigation after several women accused him of sexual abuse — was arrested Wednesday on federal charges that he took hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from contractors.

The executive, Victor Rivera, the former president and founder of the Bronx Parent Housing Network, enriched himself for years by accepting bribes from contractors doing work for his nonprofit, a major shelter provider for the city, according to papers filed in Manhattan federal court.

Prosecutors said that Mr. Rivera, 61, laundered some of the money through entities he controlled, including a consulting company owned by one of his relatives.

“Victor Rivera sought to leverage his position as the CEO of a nonprofit into a very much for-profit situation for himself,” the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Audrey Strauss, said in a statement.

At an initial court appearance on Wednesday, Mr. Rivera pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy, honest services wire fraud and money laundering. He was released on bond and was prohibited from contacting the nonprofit’s employees and board members unless in the presence of his lawyer, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last month, Mr. Rivera was fired by the nonprofit he had founded after an investigation by The New York Times found that he had engaged in a long pattern of sexual abuse and financial impropriety that stretched back almost a decade.

Ten women, including homeless women staying in his organization’s shelters, accused Mr. Rivera of sexual assault and harassment. Two of the women said Mr. Rivera had coerced them into performing oral sex. The Bronx district attorney also opened a criminal investigation into the allegations.

Mr. Rivera helped found the Bronx Parent Housing Network in 2000 and led it as it became one of the largest providers of homeless housing and services in New York City. Since 2017, his organization has received $274 million in city funding to run almost 70 sites of homeless housing.

But as city funding came in, Mr. Rivera’s personal fortune also grew. He mingled for-profit housing companies that he owned with the finances of his nonprofit, steered lucrative contracts to friends and associates and provided jobs to several members of his family, The Times found. He drove a Mercedes-Benz leased by his organization and bought a home with a heated swimming pool north of New York City and another house in the Poconos.

William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting.