SHELBY, N.C. — Residents of a Shelby home were left without power for 24 hours amid a federal fraud investigation involving Charlotte activist Cedric Dean.
The home on Gold Street, where 20-25 people reside, is part of a federal investigation into alleged Medicaid fraud by Cedric Dean, who is accused of defrauding the government of $9 million.
Channel Nine’s Ken Lemon reported that the power outage occurred because the bill hadn’t been paid, and residents were preparing to grill outside due to the lack of electricity.
The FBI alleges that Dean, a self-described advocate for the homeless in Charlotte, insisted people provide their Medicaid information before offering housing or food, using this information to defraud the government.
Although Dean has not been charged, the government has laid claim to his property, including the boarding house in Shelby. Residents expressed concern following the federal investigation but hoped Dean would resolve the issue before they went public with their worries.
Mark Burr, who helps his wife run the Totally Free Clothes store, empathizes with the residents’ situation.
“Even if you have a shelter over your head and you don’t have any power that’s better than living in the woods,” Burr told Lemon.
We checked and found that boarding houses aren’t licensed by the state and there’s no law against living in a home without power.
“You don’t really have anywhere to go,” Burr said.
Dean visited the home Tuesday night and promised to restore power. He sent a message to Channel 9 on Wednesday to confirm that it was back on.
(VIDEO: Shelby woman says she’s forced to sleep in car over smelly rental)
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