We audited the St. Tammany Parish grants department’s administration of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery program, as part of our annual audit plan to review the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 funds.  Our objective was to determine whether the Parish administered its disaster recovery program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD) requirements and in line with its…

The Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) manages $15.2 billion in disaster recovery funding appropriated by Congress in the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Sandy Supplemental). CPD distributed the funds to 34 grantees as Community Development Block Grants-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR). CPD uses a risk analysis process to rank grantees that pose the greatest risk to the integrity of its programs. According to CPD, the…

We audited the State of Oklahoma because it received $93.7 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) allocations for presidentially declared disasters that occurred in 2011, 2012, and 2013.  The substantial amount of CDBG-DR funding required a review of the State’s program.  Our objective was to determine whether the State obligated and spent its grant in accordance with requirements.  The State…

We reviewed the City of Moore, OK, because it received $52.2 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding in response to the tornado that struck Moore on May 20, 2013.  Further, the City only recently became a CDBG entitlement grantee, and there was a substantial increase between its regular CDBG funding and its CDBG-DR funding.  Also, our annual audit plan placed a priority on reviewing entities…

We audited the City of New Orleans’ Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) assistance funds awarded to the City as a result of damages caused by Hurricane Isaac.  Our objective was to determine whether the City maintained adequate procurement controls and financial management systems and administered its CDBG-DR funds in accordance with Federal guidelines, HUD regulations, and other requirements. We found that the…

The Administration of Disaster Recovery Funds in the Wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, House Financial Services Committee, subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Jeremy Kirkland, Counsel to the Inspector General was a witness.  Click here to watch.

Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato today announced the arrest of Robert William Brower, Jr., 45, of Seaside Heights, NJ, after an eighteen month joint investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Economic Crimes Unit, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General Division of Criminal Justice Financial and Computer Crimes Bureau.  As a result of this collaborative effort,…

Earlier today, Nagwa Elsilimy pleaded guilty at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn to disaster relief fraud in connection with obtaining more than $750,000 in disaster relief from New York City’s Build It Back program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Today’s proceeding took place before United States District Judge Raymond J. Dearie. Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the…

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a man who worked at a state-operated housing recovery center in Newark after Superstorm Sandy has been indicted on charges that he demanded thousands of dollars in bribes and fictitious fees from storm victims, fraudulently representing to the victims that he could expedite and/or increase the federal relief funds they received. The Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer…

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that the Attorney General’s Office and its state and federal partners have charged four new defendants with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy, bringing the total number of defendants charged by the office in these cases to 116 since March 2014. “Any fraud against public assistance programs is deplorable, but these thefts were especially…

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that the Attorney General’s Office and its state and federal partners have charged five new defendants with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy, bringing the total number of defendants charged by the office in these cases to 109 since March 2014. “Any fraud against public assistance programs is deplorable, but these thefts were especially…

Testimony Before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

TRENTON –Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that five additional individuals have been charged criminally with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy. Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 81 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the five individuals charged today. The Attorney General’s Office is continuing its…

(OAJ, NJ) TRENTON –Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that nine additional individuals have been charged criminally with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy.  Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 71 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the nine individuals charged today. The Attorney General’s Office is…