HUD OIG assisted the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Colorado, in the civil investigation of MetLife Bank, N.A.  MetLife had its principal place of business in Convent Station, NJ.  MetLife became an approved direct endorsement lender under HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) program on April 5, 2007.  The direct endorsement program authorizes private-sector mortgage...

HUD OIG conducted a civil investigation of an alleged loan origination fraud scheme involving a cash-out refinance loan that was insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).  FHA provides mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders to creditworthy borrowers.  Borrowers must occupy the properties as their primary residence for at least 1 year.  Borrowers certify to their intent to occupy the property when...

We audited the City of Passaic, NJ’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in support of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) goal of improving the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) execution of its fiscal responsibilities.  We selected the Authority based on a risk assessment of grantees administered by the HUD Newark, NJ, field office that considered grantee funding, HUD’s 2013 risk score, and prior...

We audited the City of Jersey City, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk assessment that considered the amount of funding, the risk score assigned to it by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and general congressional interest in the HOME program.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether City officials had established and implemented adequate controls to ensure that the HOME program...

We audited the State of New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded Homeowner Resettlement program.  We conducted the audit based on the substantial amount of funds the State allocated to the program.  Our objective was to determine whether the State used Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds for its Homeowner Resettlement program to assist eligible homeowners in accordance with applicable U.S. Department of...

We audited the State of New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded tourism marketing program.  We conducted the audit based on a congressional request to review the State’s Hurricane Sandy tourism marketing contract bidding process and the appropriateness of the content of its marketing campaign.  Our objectives were to determine whether the content of the marketing campaign was proper and whether the...

We reviewed Southwest Stage Funding, LLC, dba Cascade Financial Services, in Gilbert, AZ.  We selected Southwest Stage because it originated 1,841 loans totaling more than $244 million during calendar years 2012 and 2013.  Further, it had received more loan endorsements on manufactured housing loans than any other lender in Texas since January 1, 2009.  Our objective was to determine whether the lender complied with U.S....

We audited the White Mountain Apache Housing Authority’s Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG).  We conducted the audit primarily due to concerns raised by HUD’s Southwest Office of Native American Programs regarding the Authority’s financial management practices.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority used its IHBG funds in accordance with HUD requirements. The Authority failed to use its IHBG funds in...

We audited Monmouth County, NJ’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based on a risk assessment that considered grantee funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk analysis, and prior Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit coverage. The objective of the audit was to determine whether County officials established and implemented adequate controls to provide assurance that CDBG funds were expended for...

We audited Middlesex County, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk analysis that considered funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk score, and prior Office of Inspector General audits.  The audit objective was to determine whether County officials established and implemented adequate controls over their HOME program to ensure that program funds were expended and administered for...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Paterson, Paterson, NJ’s Housing Choice Voucher program based on a risk assessment of authorities administered by the HUD Newark, NJ, field office that considered funding, HUD’s 2012 risk score, and prior OIG audits. The audit objectives were to determine whether Authority officials implemented adequate controls to ensure that the program was administered in accordance with HUD regulations and its...

We audited The Lending Company, Inc., based on a hotline complaint, previous U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reviews, and our goal to improve the integrity of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family insurance programs.  Our objectives were to determine whether The Lending Company complied with HUD requirements when it used gift programs, originated and underwrote FHA loans, and implemented its quality...

We audited Essex County, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk assessment that considered grantee funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk analysis, and prior audit coverage.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether County officials established and implemented adequate controls to ensure that the HOME program was administered in compliance with program requirements. The...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of New Brunswick’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Capital Fund Program based upon a risk analysis of authorities administered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Newark, NJ field office, which considered the funding received and HUD’s assigned risk score. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether Authority officials (1) obligated and expended their...

We audited the West New York Housing Authority’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Capital Fund program in support of the Office of Inspector General’s audit plan goal to oversee Recovery Act-funded activities. We selected the Authority based upon a risk analysis of authorities receiving Recovery Act capital funds administered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Newark, NJ, field office, which considered...

We audited the City of Paterson, NJ’s Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program in support of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) goal to contribute to improving HUD’s execution of its fiscal responsibilities. We selected the City after a risk analysis of HOPWA grantees administered by the HUD Newark, NJ, field office that considered funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 2011 risk...

We audited Morris County, NJ’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based on a risk assessment, which considered the size of the program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk analysis, and prior audit coverage. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether County officials established adequate controls to ensure that CDBG funds were expended for eligible activities and that the program was...

We audited the Hoboken, NJ, Housing Authority’s administration of its Recovery Act Capital Fund program in support of HUD OIG’s audit plan goals to oversee Recovery Act-funded activity and improve HUD’s execution of and accountability for its fiscal responsibilities. We selected the Authority based on a risk assessment, which considered the Authority’s funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk analysis, and...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited Allen Mortgage, Limited Liability Company, a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) nonsupervised lender. We selected Allen Mortgage for audit based on its high default and claim rate for the FHA-insured loans sponsored in Region 5. Our objectives were to determine whether (1) Allen Mortgage complied with HUD’s regulations, procedures, and instructions in...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Mortgage Now Inc., a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved nonsupervised direct endorsement lender approved to originate, underwrite, and submit mortgages for insurance. We selected Mortgage Now based on its compare ratio of 223 percent for a 2-year FHA performance period. Its average compare ratio for the loans originated in our...