Woman Accused Of Double-Dipping On Mansfield Section 8 Rental

MANSFIELD, CT — A former Mansfield resident is facing a felony larceny charge in a six-year-old case involving the illegal sublet of a federally subsidized rental unit in town, state police said.

Rochelle Phillips, 48, formerly of Mansfield and now of Fayetteville, NC, was charged via a warrant with first-and-fourth-degree larceny. She posted a $20,000 bond in the case and is due in Rockville Superior Court on Jan. 10, records show.

According to a warrant, state police began investigating the actions of Phillips following a complaint filed by the Mansfield Housing Authority on July 24, 2017. The housing authority began looking into the matter when a Chinese national who was attending the University of Connecticut complained he had been paying rent to someone who didn't actually own his apartment, according to a warrant.

Phillips was on probation after a long criminal history in Connecticut that included incarceration and included larceny, according to a warrant.

Phillips was renting out the apartment while collecting funds for rent and utilities for an apartment at the Renwood complex on Cornell Road in Mansfield under the federal Section 8 program. She was not living there, according to a warrant.