NBA Star, Sister Target Of Housing Fraud Probe

Indianapolis -- Former Indiana Pacers star Ron Artest and his sister are at the center of a welfare fraud investigation.

Police and housing authorities raided the home Latoya Holmes-Ivey and her three children rent at 336 E. Burgess Ave. Wednesday morning, 6News' Rafael Sanchez reported.

Holmes-Ivey was receiving taxpayer-supported rent assistance because she claimed she had no income, but investigators said she may have been getting money from her brother.

The tip came from a former CPA at Tennessee-based TriStar Sports and Entertainment, the company that represents Artest, who now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to court documents, the ex-employee sent an e-mail to the Housing and Urban Development Office in Indianapolis claiming that TriStar, under the direction of Artest, was using one of his bank accounts to pay all of Holmes-Ivey's bills.

The man requested to remain anonymous, saying that he could not, in good conscience, fail to report such an ethics infraction.

Housing authorities said that if the allegations are true, Holmes-Ivey would have used at least $34,000 in taxpayer money she was not entitled to.

"The source of the income doesn't matter. What matters is that she did not report the money," said Indianapolis Housing Agency Executive Director Bud Meyers, who would not say what investigators took from Holmes-Ivey's home.

Some neighbors said they were skeptical of Holmes-Ivey after learning who her brother was.

"I never understood why she was on assistance because of that, when she told me he was her brother," said Marcia Taylor. "The people who do need the assistance don't get it, when the people who don't need it get a lot of time."

"If you have a brother like that anyway, why do you to commit fraud or whatever?" said neighbor Filippo Borregine.

Neither Holmes-Ivey nor TriStar Sports and Entertainment returned calls for comment on Wednesday.