The former executive director of the Chelsea Housing Authority (CHA) pleaded guilty yesterday for rigging the inspection process for federally-funded housing units.

Michael McLaughlin pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States. In October 2013, McLaughlin was indicted along with two co-defendants, whose trials are pending. Sentencing is scheduled for June 20.

From 2000 until November 2011, McLaughlin was the executive director of the Chelsea Housing Authority, which managed three federal housing developments funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and contained approximately 350 units. Between 2007 and 2011, McLaughlin conspired with his co-defendants would obtain in advance the list of units that HUD was going to inspect, enabling the housing authority to focus on repairing those units and to deceive the HUD inspectors.

In July 2013, McLaughlin was sentenced to 36 months in prison for falsely reporting his salary in annual budgets required by HUD.

McLaughlin pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement with the United States. If the court accepts McLaughlin’s guilty plea, he will be sentenced to one year in prison, to be served consecutively with the prison term he is currently serving, and a $3,000 fine.