We audited the Newark, Delaware, branch office (branch office) of J.P. Morgan Chase bank (J.P. Morgan Chase), a supervised direct endorsement lender approved to originate Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family mortgage loans. We selected the branch office because its default rate was above the state’s average default rate. Our objective was to determine whether J.P. Morgan Chase complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

We audited the Newark, Delaware, branch office (branch office) of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Wells Fargo). The branch office is mainly responsible for underwriting loans for 22 Wells Fargo sales branch offices in Pennsylvania. We selected the branch office because of its relatively high default rate, compared with the average default rate for the state of Pennsylvania. Our objective was to determine whether the branch office complied with U.S.…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a management alert urging HUD leadership to address the Department’s longstanding challenges with identifying and preventing improper payments. For 11 consecutive years, HUD has been noncompliant with federal laws requiring agencies and departments to identify, report, and mitigate improper or unknown payments in their…

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is initiating an inquiry into Ginnie Mae’s monitoring and extinguishment of former issuer, Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF), from its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) Program.  The OIG’s inquiry will include interviews, data gathering, and analysis of compliance with laws, regulations, policies, and procedures related…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit report about HUD’s compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA).  Congress enacted the PIIA in March 2020 to safeguard Federal funds by reducing payments made for an incorrect amount under statutory, contractual, administrative, or other legally applicable requirements.   The law…

The Justice Department today announced the launch of the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Environmental Crimes Task Force to investigate and prosecute violations of federal law harming the environment, wildlife and human health, and associated fraud, waste and abuse in the region. The creation of the task force comes one year after the Justice Department announced  its Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General issued an evaluation report about HUD’s processes for monitoring children with elevated blood lead levels (EBLL) and lead-based paint hazards in public housing.The evaluation examined HUD’s processes for addressing cases of EBLLs in children residing in public housing determined the effectiveness of two trackers that HUD uses to ensure appropriate action is…

      WASHINGTON DC — Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis issues the following statement on the issuance of notification of inquiry to the Department concerning the circumstances resulting in the relocation of residents at Peppertree Apartments: “Promoting safety in HUD housing is a top priority for my office. Everyone deserves to live in a decent, safe, and sanitary home without the fear of being exposed to safety hazards…

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss announced today that landlords Goodfish Enterprises, LLC; Reliant Property Management Company; and Christopher Lukacs have agreed to pay $430,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act during their participation in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), commonly known as “Section 8.”  The HCVP is the federal…

Each year, in compliance with Public Law 106-531, the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), issues a report summarizing what we consider the most serious management challenges facing the Department.

Through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Congress has provided over $12 billion to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist homeowners, renters, landlords, and impacted communities. HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) has developed a framework of five key oversight areas to guide our work.

WILMINGTON, Del. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment on February 13, 2020, charging a Baltimore, Maryland woman with one count of theft from a Wilmington company receiving federal funds. According to the indictment, April Pritchett, 37, engaged in a scheme to defraud her former employer, referred to as Company A in the indictment, a property management and development company based in Wilmington, Delaware.  Company A receives…