Our office assisted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, in conducting an investigation of Bank of America’s origination of mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) from May 1, 2009, through March 31, 2012.   On August 20, 2014, Bank of America entered into a settlement agreement to pay $16.65 billion, of which $9.65 billion resolved pending and potential...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Stamford, doing business as Charter Oak Communities.  We received an anonymous complaint against the Authority related to an alleged improper procurement.  The complainant alleged that Authority officials awarded a contract to an employee’s spouse without following procurement and conflict-of-interest requirements.  In addition, a previous audit (Audit report number 2012-BO-1002...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport, CT, to address complaints and areas that came to our attention during a prior audit.  Our objective was determine whether costs charged to Federal housing programs were eligible, reasonable, and supported.  Specifically, we determined whether officials properly (1) charged development staff costs, (2) charged Section 8 consulting costs, (3) implemented flat rents, (4) loaned...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Greensboro, NC, Office of Public Housing as part of a nationwide audit of HUD’s oversight of environmental reviews.  We selected the Greensboro Office based on our risk assessment.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Greensboro Office of Public Housing ensured that it performed the required reviews and did not release funds until all requirements...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the Office of the United States Attorney, Civil Division, of the Eastern District of North Carolina with a review of loans allegedly improperly originated by Numerica Mortgage, LLC.  Numerica was a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) direct endorsement mortgagee.  The allegations originated with the office of the North Carolina...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the Office of the United States Attorney, Civil Division, of the Eastern District of North Carolina with a review of loans allegedly improperly originated by Numerica Mortgage, LLC.  Numerica was a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) direct endorsement mortgagee.  The allegations originated with the office of the North Carolina...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport, CT, based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Hartford, CT, field office.  HUD officials were concerned about the Authority due to significant financial deficiencies that were not corrected in a timely manner.  Our audit objective was to determine whether Authority officials ensured that expenses charged to Federal programs were...

We initiated a review of the Housing Authority of the City of Lumberton, NC, at the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Greensboro, NC, Office of Public Housing.  HUD staff described many areas of concern, including cash management, procurement, and inventory controls.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority operated its public housing program in accordance with HUD and other Federal...

We audited the City of Rocky Mount, NC’s HOME Investment Partnerships program based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Greensboro, NC, Office of Community Planning and Development.  The request expressed several concerns regarding the City’s administration of its HOME program.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD’s concerns had merit and whether the City operated its HOME program in...

We audited Ofori & Associates, PC, regarding its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) real estate-owned (REO) Management and Marketing (M&M) III program. This review was part of the Office of Inspector General’s efforts to improve the integrity of the single-family insurance program. Our audit objective was to determine whether Ofori complied with case processing requirements and timeframes to obtain the highest net...

We audited Prysma Lending Group, LLC, a nonsupervised lender, located in Danbury, CT, in support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) goal of improving the integrity of the single-family insurance program. We selected Prysma for audit because its 3.28 percent default rate for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured single-family loans with beginning amortization dates between...

We audited the West Village Expansion Project in Durham, NC, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 220-insured property, due to a citizen’s hotline complaint. The anonymous complainant alleged that the managing member of the project’s ownership entity spent an excessive amount of project funds on legal fees, transferred more than $500,000 to another entity owned by it, and failed to keep the mortgage current. Our...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), conducted a review of loans underwritten by Countrywide Home Loans Inc., and its divisions Countrywide Bank FSB and Countrywide Mortgage Ventures, LLC. The objective of the review was to determine whether Countrywide underwrote Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans in accordance with HUD-FHA regulations. Countrywide is a subsidiary of Bank of...

We audited the public housing program of the Housing Authority of the City of Hickory, NC, due to a citizen’s hotline complaint. Our objectives were to evaluate the merits of the complaint allegations and determine whether the Authority complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements for procurement, cash disbursements, a 2004 Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) grant, and inventory control. The...

We audited the Housing Authority ofthe City of Stamford, CT's administration of its Federal housing programs based on an anonymous complaint. Federal programs included Operating Fund, Section 8 programs (including the Housing Choice Voucher program, Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation program, and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program), and Capital Fund programs. The Authority was also awarded an American Recovery...

As part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) nationwide effort to review the foreclosure practices of the five largest Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage servicers (Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, CitiMortgage, JP Morgan Chase, and Ally Financial, Incorporated) we reviewed Bank of America’s foreclosure and claims processes. In addition to this memorandum, OIG issued separate memorandums for each of the other four reviews....

We performed a corrective action verification review of the audit recommendations made on the procurement practices of the Housing Authority of the City of Danbury for finding 5 of Audit Report Number 2004-BO-1004, issued December 5, 2003. This review was based on a complaint. The purpose of the review was to determine whether the selected audit recommendations were implemented and the deficiencies cited in the report were corrected. The...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Hartford’s (the Authority’s) administration of its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant that funded a construction management contract based on a hotline complaint. Our objective was to determine if the Authority solicited, evaluated, and administered the $2.5 million grant funding and associated contract (the contract) properly and in accordance with federal requirements. We also visited...

We selected the tribe for audit because it received a $4.7 million formula grant and a $4 million competitive grant, the largest Native American Housing Block Grants awarded in North Carolina under the Recovery Act. Our objective was to determine whether the tribe administered its Native American Housing Block Grants in compliance with Recovery Act and other applicable requirements, specifically, whether it had (1) expended funds on a timely...