The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) initiated this investigation upon receipt of information alleging a Ginnie Mae Senior Vice President may have provided nonpublic Ginnie Mae information to representatives of a private investment firm.

The OIG’s investigation found that the employee (1) provided nonpublic information about a Ginnie Mae issuer to the firm that the employee knew or should have known was not authorized for public release, (2) provided the firm with preferential treatment or created the appearance that he was doing so in certain of his interactions with it, and (3) did not take sufficient care to avoid creating the appearance that he may have been acting unlawfully in certain of his interactions with the firm. We found this conduct violated 5 C.F.R. §§ 2635.703, 2635.101(b)(8), and 2635.101(b)(14).

The OIG referred this matter to the appropriate office within the U.S. Department of Justice for prosecutorial consideration and no prosecution resulted. The OIG also referred its findings in this matter to HUD and Ginnie Mae for any administrative action they may deem appropriate.