PANAMA CITY — The former director of the Apalachicola Housing Authority (AHA) was sentenced Tuesday after she pleaded guilty in June to stealing government funds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Selena Noblit, 43, of Panama City, was sentenced to one year of probation, 192 hours of community service and a $100 fine for using the AHA’s American Express credit card for more than $11,000 in personal expenses, then using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds to pay the credit card bills.
Court records show she spent the money on food, tools, children’s clothes, dental care and a theme park visit.
Noblit was fired as the housing authority director, a position she held about four years, in July 2012, about a month after a federal grand jury returned an indictment against her. The theft was discovered in the course of an investigation and audit conducted by HUD and the Apalachicola Housing Authority.
The followoing month, Noblit’s husband delivered two checks totaling about $11,000 to AHA, according to records. Noblit told federal officials she always had intended to repay the money, but her finances became too co-mingled and she lost track of how much she owed.
Judge Robert L. Hinkle could have sentenced Noblit to up 10 years in prison.