Massachusetts Housing Official Charged With Using Public Funds To Renovate His Bathroom

The former executive director of the Watertown Housing Authority in Massachusetts was forced to step down after it was revealed he'd stolen thousands of taxpayer dollars from the organization to renovate the bathroom in his home.

From 2019 to 2025, Michael Lara served as the executive director of the Watertown Housing Authority, which manages affordable public housing in the community and primarily serves low-income, disabled, and elderly populations.

According to a criminal complaint filed against him in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Lara used organization credit cards to fund a home renovation project.

Prosecutors say in 2023, he purchased around $6,200 in supplies to renovate a bathroom in his Norwood home—including a $1,600 double-vanity sink at Home Depot and additional purchases at a local bathroom showroom totaling around $3,100.

Lara used these cards despite housing authority policy expressly forbidding the use of organization credit cards for personal purchases. And he apparently knew that he was in violation of policy because he attempted to hide the purchases, according to the complaint.

Lara coded the purchases as “705" in the organization's logbooks, implying that they were for Chapter 705 rentals. Chapter 705 rentals are affordable housing units for low-income families.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, launched an investigation into Lara and the charges the following year.

When Lara learned of the investigation, authorities allege he initially attempted to remove the incriminating bathroom fixtures and updates from his home—though he left vanity lights up that he had purchased on the WHA's credit card.

Lara was charged with one count of wire fraud and agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement in Massachusetts District Court.

Under the terms of his agreement, Lara must repay the approximately $6,200 he stole from the WHA; not commit any additional federal crimes for the next six months; and resign from his current position as executive director of the nearby Newton Housing Authority. Lara has already stepped down from that role.

"Lara acknowledges that the USAO has independently developed evidence during its investigation sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Lara violated federal law ... and he accepts responsibility for this conduct," according to the agreement. 

Lara has until Feb. 17, 2027, to repay the WHA $6,247. If he does so, the charges against him will be dismissed. If he fails to meet the state's requirements, he could face federal prosecution.