U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know

The .gov means it’s official.

Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.

The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Línea Directa

REPORTAR FRAUDE, DESPERDICIO O ABUSO
Septiembre 30, 2008
  • Public and Indian Housing
2008-CH-1017
ig0851017.pdf

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office Inspector General audited the Chicago Housing Authority's (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (program) under its Moving to Work Demonstration program. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2007 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing agencies in Region V's jurisdiction. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in accordance with HUD's requirements. This is the first of multiple audit reports that may be issued regarding the Authority's program.

The Authority's program administration regarding housing assistance payment calculations, documentation to support households' eligibility and calculations for housing assistance, and the recovery of overpayments of housing assistance and utility allowances for deceased individuals was inadequate. The Authority incorrectly calculated households' payments resulting in more than $60,000 in overpayments and nearly $5,800 in underpayments for the period January 1, 2006, through August 31, 2007.

The Authority also did not ensure that its households' files contained the required documentation to support its housing assistance and utility allowances. Of the 71 files statistically selected for review, 42 did not contain documentation required by HUD and the Authority's program administrative plan to support nearly $157,000 in housing assistance and utility allowance payments.

Further, the Authority did not effectively recover more than $36,000 in housing assistance and utility allowance overpayments for deceased individuals.

We informed the Authority's chief executive officer and the Director of HUD's Chicago Office of Public Housing of minor deficiencies through a memorandum, dated August 25, 2008.

We recommend that the Director of HUD's Chicago Office of Public Housing require the Authority to reimburse its program from nonfederal funds for the improper use of more than $113,000 in program funds, provide documentation or reimburse its program nearly $164,000 from nonfederal funds for the unsupported payments cited in this audit report, and implement adequate procedures and controls to address the findings cited in this audit report.