We audited the Newark Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher Program. We selected the Authority for review because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) authorized more than $111 million in program funding for its Housing Choice Voucher Program in fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and based on our risk analysis of public housing agencies located in the State of New Jersey. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Benkelman Housing Authority based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG), Office of Investigation.  Additionally, HUD conducted an onsite assessment in May 2016 and identified concerns, including procurement, income verification, travel policy, and significant control...

We audited the Red Bank Housing Authority based on the results of our audit of Asbury Park Housing Authority because both public housing agencies had agreements with the Long Branch Housing Authority to provide services.  The objective of this audit was to determine whether the Authority administered its Public Housing Operating and Capital Fund programs in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal,...

We audited Towne Mortgage Company, a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) nonsupervised lender, as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2018 annual audit plan.  We selected Towne Mortgage based on our analysis of risk factors for single-family servicing lenders in Region 5’s jurisdiction.[1]  Our audit objective was to determine whether Towne Mortgage properly implemented its Loss Mitigation program for FHA-insured loans in...

We audited the Grand Rapids Housing Commission’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program (RAD) based on the activities included in our 2017 annual audit plan and our analysis of the housing agencies participating in RAD in Region 5’s jurisdiction (States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin).  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Commission correctly calculated housing assistance payments for the units...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Asbury Park based on our risk analysis of public housing agencies located in the State of New Jersey.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority administered its Public Housing Operating and Capital Fund programs in accordance with applicable U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal, and Authority requirements. The Authority did not always...

We audited Hudson County, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships program (HOME) as part of the activities in our annual audit plan.  We selected the County based on a risk analysis that considered the amount of funding, the risk score assigned to it by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and our identification of potential issues.  Our objective was to determine whether the County committed and disbursed HOME funds...

We audited Travelers Aid Society of Metropolitan Detroit’s Continuum of Care program.  The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2017 annual audit plan.  We selected Travelers Aid’s program based on a request from the Director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Detroit Office of Community Planning and Development and the results of HUD’s monitoring review of one of Travelers Aid’s fiscal year...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, District of New Jersey, District of Minnesota, and Southern District of Florida, in the civil investigation of PHH Corporation, PHH Mortgage Corporation (PHHMC), and PHH Home Loans, LLC (PHHHL), collectively referred to as PHH.  PHH was a direct endorsement lender...

We audited the State of New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded Sandy Homebuyer Assistance program.  We conducted the audit because (1) it was the State’s only home-buyer assistance program, (2) the State had spent a high percentage of its allocated funds, and (3) reviews performed by the State auditor and the State’s disaster recovery integrity monitor identified potential issues.  Our objective was to...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Michigan, in the civil investigation of United Shore Financial Services, LLC.  United Shore is a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved mortgage lender, with its principal place of business located in Troy, MI. United Shore became...

We audited the Housing Authority of the Township of Irvington, NJ, regarding the administration of its public housing program because it was classified as a troubled public housing agency and based on a complaint from the union representing its maintenance and clerical employees.  The complaint alleged serious financial and operational mismanagement.  The audit objectives were to determine whether the issues identified in the...

We audited the Port Huron Housing Commission’s public housing program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2016 annual audit plan.  We selected the Commission based on our analysis of the risk factors relating to public housing agencies in Region 5’s 1 jurisdiction.  Our objective was to determine whether the Commission administered its program in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and...

We audited Union County, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk analysis of the County’s program that considered the amount of funding, the risk score assigned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and our identification of potential issues.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether County officials had established and implemented adequate controls to ensure that the County’s program...

We audited the State of New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded Superstorm Sandy Housing Incentive Program contract.  We conducted the audit because the contract involved a significant amount of funds ($67.7 million), was critical to the implementation of three of the State’s disaster programs, and was terminated less than 1 year into the 3-year contract term.  Our objective was to determine whether the...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, in the civil investigation of Freedom Mortgage Corporation.  Freedom has its principal place of business in Mount Laurel, NJ, and became an FHA-approved direct endorsement lender in 1993.  As a direct endorsement lender, Freedom...

We audited the City of Camden, NJ’s administration of its Community Development Block Grant program.  We conducted the audit because the City was authorized $6.6 million in Block Grant funds for fiscal years 2013 through 2015 and we had not audited its program since 1996.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City ensured that its program activities met national objectives and complied with applicable U.S. Department of...

We completed a review of the City of Jersey City, NJ’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in response to a hotline complaint.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether allegations included in the complaint had merit and whether City officials had established and implemented adequate controls to ensure that the City’s CDBG program was administered in compliance with CDBG program requirements. Our review determined...

We are conducting an audit of the City of Jersey City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based upon an Office of Inspector General (OIG) hotline complaint containing several allegations, one of which was that the City’s Division of Community Development’s lead risk assessor was not qualified or producing monitoring reports for rehabilitation work funded under the City’s Homeowner Rehabilitation Program.  The objective of...

We audited the Lansing Housing Commission’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program based on our analysis of risk factors related to the public housing agencies in Region 5’s  jurisdiction and the activities included in our 2015 annual audit plan.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Commission (1) appropriately calculated housing assistance payments, (2) maintained eligibility documentation required to support the...