U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know

The .gov means it’s official.

Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.

The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Closed Date:
December 10, 2019

Conduct a complete analysis of existing procedures to strengthen controls over debt collection, including HUD’s Treasury Reports of Receivables reporting, resulting in funds to be put to better use of $3,247,078. Controls should include additional procedures for ensuring that DOJ approval is obtained when required, that all appropriate means of collection have been pursued (including referral to Treasury when required), and that all closed debts are tracked and were properly authorized for collection termination or forgiveness. The analysis should also include a review of HUD’s Treasury Reports on Receivables, and any other available records to verify that all closed debts were properly approved for collection termination or forgiveness when required. For any identified debts that were not properly approved, the Departmental Claims Collection Officer should coordinate with applicable program offices to obtain appropriate documentation to approve collection termination or reinstate the debt and resume collections.

Publication Report

2017-LA-0005 | September 21, 2017

HUD Did Not Always Follow Applicable Requirements When Forgiving Debts and Terminating Debt Collections

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) process for forgiving debts and terminating debt collections based on an Office of Inspector General (OIG) preaudit analysis that noted potential violations of debt collection… more

Related Recommendations

Chief Financial Officer

  •  
    Status
      Open
      Closed
    2017-LA-0005-001-A
    Closed on October 19, 2023
    $1,210,278.00
    Questioned Costs

    Recommendations with questioned costs identify costs: (A] resulting from an alleged violation of a law, regulation, contract, grant, or other document or agreement governing the use of Federal funds; (B] that are not supported by adequate documentation (also known as an unsupported cost]; or (C] that appear unnecessary or unreasonable.

    Take appropriate steps to establish eligibility for collection termination or compromise for 10 debts totaling $1,210,278,5 including three debts that were closed without required DOJ approval. For debts that have a remaining appropriate means of collection, such as demand letters, administrative offset, or referral to Treasury, HUD should reinstate the debt and resume collections.