Mary Cossey, former executive director of the Gary Housing Authority and confidant of former Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, will enter a plea of not guilty Friday on three charges of wire fraud stemming from a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, according to her attorney.

Attorney Scott King said Cossey would be appearing in court Friday in a videoconference to enter her plea and get a date set for trial.

“We will be entering a plea of not guilty and we intend to see her vindicated at trial,” King said.

Cossey, 54, of Munster, has been indicted on three counts of wire fraud related to her bankruptcy petition following an investigation by the FBI and IRS in collaboration with the Northern Indiana Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group coordinated by the U.S. Trustee for Region 10, said Thomas Kirsch II, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana.

Investigators allege Cossey defrauded the bankruptcy trustee and her creditors by providing false information in her bankruptcy petition and concealed prohibited post-petition and preferential payments to a personal friend and creditor, identified in the indictment as Individual A, according to Kirsch.

“The purpose of Cossey’s scheme was to avail herself of the benefits of bankruptcy — including preventing foreclosure on her home, reducing the majority of her debt on a rental property in Gary, Indiana, and eliminating her unsecured debt for pennies on the dollar — without making any of the financial sacrifices required by Chapter 13 debtors,” Kirsch’s office wrote in the release.

Cossey originally was indicted in August. Her case had been postponed as the two sides attempted to reach a plea agreement. The FBI investigated Cossey’s finances form December 2013 to January 2019.

According to the court documents, it took three years to finalize a bankruptcy plan for Cossey after she filed in December 2016.

From January 2013 to September 2019 Cossey allegedly made more than 200 cash deposits to Individual A. According to the documents, Individual A indicated that 80% of the deposits went to pay the American Express bill in Individual A’s name. Cossey did not disclose Individual A as a creditor and did not disclose payments to Individual A made prior to the bankruptcy filing.

The concealed income and assets allegedly include $95,000 in cash, $5,000 in consultant fees for campaign and fundraisers $78,000 severance from Indiana American Water Co., $54,000 in retirement account withdrawals, $17,000 in rental income, $8,000 in title loans, and $3,000 in real estate commissions.

Carrie Napoleon is a freelancer.