We audited Camden County, NJ's administration of its Community Development Block Grant funds that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We selected the County for an audit because we received two complaints alleging that the County misused Recovery Act funds and because of our mandate to audit Recovery Act activities. Our audit objective was to determine whether the County obligated, expended, and reported...

We audited Essex County, NJ’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) in support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) goal to review the expenditure of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds and contribute to improving HUD’s execution and accountability of fiscal responsibilities. The audit objective was to determine whether Essex County officials obligated...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Long Branch, New Jersey’s, (Authority) administration of its Capital Fund Program and Capital Fund Financing Program in support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) goal to contribute to improving HUD’s execution and accountability of fiscal responsibilities. The objectives of this audit were to determine whether Authority officials...

During the audit of the City of Long Branch, New Jersey Housing Authority’s administration of its Public Housing Capital Fund and Capital Fund Financing Programs (report number 2011-NY-1013), we found that Authority officials had not accurately accounted for some transactions with its affiliated entities. Therefore, we performed a limited review of the Authority’s processes for recording these transactions. Authority officials did not properly...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Elizabeth, New Jersey’s, (Authority) administration of its capital fund program (CFP) in support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) goal to contribute to improving HUD’s execution and accountability of fiscal responsibilities. The audit objectives were to determine whether Authority officials (1) obligated and expended capital funds...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Camden NJ's administration of its housing quality standards inspection program for its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program as part of our fiscal year 2010 audit plan. The audit objective addressed in this report was to determine whether the Authority ensured that its program units met the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) housing quality standards. The...

We audited the East Orange Revitalization and Development Corporation (Corporation). We selected the Corporation based on a request for an audit from the Newark U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Community Planning and Development. The objective of the review was to determine whether the Corporation complied with HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) requirements and Federal regulations. Corporation...

As part of our audit of the East Orange Revitalization and Development Corporation (Corporation), we reviewed the City of East Orange’s (City) compliance with the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) in regard to the eligibility of an awarded capacity building grant and developer fees awarded to the Corporation. This review raised issues in regard to the City’s compliance with HOME program requirements, Federal regulations, and HOME...

We audited the Jersey City Housing Authority’s (Authority) administration of its Replacement Housing Factor (RHF) grants received under the capital fund program. This is the third audit report regarding the Authority’s capital fund programs. We selected the Authority because of the size of its capital fund programs and because of its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) risk rating. Our audit objective was to determine...

We audited the Jersey City Housing Authority’s (Authority) administration of its public housing capital fund program funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). This is the second audit report regarding the Authority’s capital fund programs. We selected the Authority because of the size of its capital fund programs and because of its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) risk rating. Our...

We conducted an audit of the Irvington Housing Authority’s (Authority) Capital Fund programs. The audit objectives were to determine whether Authority officials (1) obligated and expended its Capital Funds in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, (2) had a financial management system in place that complied with program requirements and (3) whether the allegations in an anonymous complaint could be...

We audited the City of Bayonne, NJ's (City) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) economic development activities in response to a complaint (HL- 09-1015) that contained four allegations. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the City (1) disbursed CDBG economic development funds efficiently and effectively in accordance with its submission to HUD and with the applicable rules and regulations, (2) used CDBG economic development...

We audited the Jersey City Housing Authority's (Authority) administration of its capital fund programs. We selected the Authority because of the size of its capital fund programs and because of its US, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) risk rating. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority (I) obligated and expended funds under the Public Housing Capital Fund program (CFP) and Capital Fund Financing...

We conducted a review of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by Security Atlantic Mortgage Company, Inc. (Security Atlantic), an FHA direct endorsement lender. This review was conducted as part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Operation Watchdog initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion of the FHA Commissioner. The Commissioner expressed concern regarding the...

We completed an audit of the City of Jersey City’s (City) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) float loan activity. Our audit objective was to determine whether the City ensured that CDBG funds used for the float loan complied with applicable rules and regulations. The City did not comply with applicable regulations and failed to take timely action when the float loan defaulted. Specifically, it did not (1) make a good faith effort to...

We audited Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc. (Infinity Home Mortgage), a nonsupervised lender approved to originate Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family mortgage loans. We selected Infinity Home Mortgage because its default rate for the State of Pennsylvania was significantly higher than the average default rate for the State. Our objective was to determine whether Infinity Home Mortgage complied with U.S. Department of Housing...

We completed an audit of the City of Jersey City's (City) capacity to administer Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). Our objectives were to evaluate the City’s capacity in the areas of internal controls, eligibility, financial controls, procurement, and output/outcomes in administering CDBG funds. The City generally had adequate financial...

We completed an audit of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program administered by the City of Paterson (City). Our audit objectives were to determine whether the City (1) disbursed CDBG funds efficiently and effectively in accordance with its submission to HUD and applicable rules and regulations and (2) had a financial management system in place to adequately safeguard the funds. The City did not always disburse CDBG funds efficiently...