We audited the County of San Diego’s Continuum of Care program funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  We audited the County because HUD had not reviewed its Continuum of Care grant program in more than 10 years and as a spinoff of an audit of a County subgrantee, Mental Health Systems, Inc. (2017-LA-1003, issued June 2, 2017).  Our audit objective was to determine whether the County…

We audited the Town of Apple Valley’s Community Development Block Grant program due to a hotline complaint (HC-2016-2372) alleging that the Town did not use its program funds in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program regulations and requirements.  Specifically, the complainant wrote a letter to the previous HUD Secretary alleging that the Town misused program funds.  Our audit…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, assisted the U.S. Department of Justice Washington D.C., and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices of the Northern District of Georgia and Northern District of California, in the civil investigation of Prospect Mortgage, LLC. Based in part on our review, the Federal Government alleged that Prospect violated the False Claims Act when it originated and…

We audited the City of Fresno’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.  We selected the City based on prior findings identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and continuing issues with the program.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the City administered its CDBG funds in accordance with HUD requirements, focusing on code enforcement, antigraffiti, and after school…

We audited the City of Huntington Park’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.  We selected the City based on the high risk assessment score and prior findings identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the City administered its CDBG funds in accordance with HUD requirements, focusing on grant expenditures and procurement. …

We audited Cypress Meadows Assisted Living based on a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Departmental Enforcement Center, referral.  The referral asserted that the owner took distributions from Cypress Meadows for expenses other than the operation and maintenance of the project.  Our objective was to determine whether Cypress Meadows was managed in accordance with its regulatory and operating agreements…

We audited Mental Health Systems, Inc.’s (MHS) Supportive Housing Program and Continuum of Care direct grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  We audited MHS as the result of requests from HUD, prompted by a media report and the County of San Diego’s review of MHS in response to whistleblower accusations of improprieties.  The accusations centered on MHS drawing government funds in advance…

We audited the Inglewood Housing Authority (Authority) based upon issues with participant eligibility identified during our previous review of the financial operations of the Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program, audit report 2016-LA-1013.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority ensured that participants were eligible to receive housing assistance in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

We audited the Inglewood Housing Authority’s financial management of its Housing Choice Voucher program due to a hotline complaint allegation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Los Angeles Office of Public Housing’s concerns about the Authority’s financial management of its program.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority managed the financial operations of its program in…

We audited the City of Huntington Beach’s Community Development Block Grant program due to issues identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Los Angeles Office of Community Planning and Development.  In addition, Office of Inspector General (OIG) data analytics identified timeliness issues with the use of program funding.  We also selected the City because it had not been audited by OIG.…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), OIG referred alleged violations to HUD’s Office of Program Enforcement for action under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act based on an audit of Shea Mortgage that found it did not follow HUD requirements when it underwrote loans that had executed and recorded agreements containing prohibited restrictive covenants.  HUD’s Office of…

We reviewed Sun West Mortgage Company’s loan underwriting activities, including quality controls, based on a citizen complaint alleging that the mortgage company was deficient in underwriting its loans.  The complaint further alleged that the mortgage company used unauthorized staff in another country and shared user identification numbers to “pre-underwrite” Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans.  Our objective…

We audited the Dolores Frances Affordable Housing project, based on a citizen complaint and a suggestion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Departmental Enforcement Center.  The complaint alleged nonpayment of HUD utility allowances and security deposits, mismanagement of the maintenance department, related parties hired in supervisory positions, and conflict-of-interest vendor contracts by the…

We audited the Dolores Frances Affordable Housing project, based on a citizen complaint and a suggestion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Departmental Enforcement Center.  The complaint alleged nonpayment of HUD utility allowances and security deposits, mismanagement of the maintenance department, related parties hired in supervisory positions, and conflict-of-interest vendor contracts by the…

We audited the City of Pasadena’s Community Development Block Grant program due to performance issues identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Los Angeles Office of Community Planning and Development.  Our objective was to determine whether the City administered its program in accordance with applicable HUD rules and requirements.  Specifically, we wanted to determine whether its projects…

We audited the Richmond Housing Authority due to a complaint alleging that the Authority submitted falsified documentation to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and allowed the City of Richmond to use the Authority’s HUD funds and the Authority’s assets and that the City charged the Authority for rent and services at an unreasonable price.  Our audit objective was to validate complaint allegations…

We audited the Orange County Housing Authority’s monitoring of its contractors’ performance of housing quality standards inspections of its mobility out units due to inadequacies identified in another review of the Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program’s housing quality standards.  The Authority contracted out the administration and housing quality standards inspections for its mobility out housing units, Housing Choice…

We audited the Richmond Housing Authority due to a complaint alleging that the Authority violated procurement requirements related to legal and accounting services and wrote off tenant debts improperly.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority procured goods and services and managed tenant rents for its public housing program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)…

We audited the Orange County Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program’s housing quality standards primarily due to the Orange County district attorney’s investigation into allegations that Authority inspectors conducted personal business during the work day.  These allegations resulted in concerns that inspections may not have been thorough to ensure housing units met HUD standards.  Our objective was to determine…

We audited the County of Riverside’s Community Development Block Grant program due to the delayed expenditure of funds for fiscal year 2014 and previous audit findings regarding policies and procedures.  The Office of Inspector General had conducted a review of the County and identified issues with its program-specific policies and procedures, which were addressed (audit report number 2010-LA-1004).  Our objective was to…