The U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited HUD to determine whether it identified and collected outstanding partial claims out of surplus proceeds from nonconveyance foreclosures.  We initiated this audit because we learned while doing unrelated audit work that a trustee attorney held surplus proceeds from two nonconveyance foreclosures and HUD had not claimed these funds to offset earlier…

We audited Towne Mortgage Company, a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) nonsupervised lender, as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2018 annual audit plan.  We selected Towne Mortgage based on our analysis of risk factors for single-family servicing lenders in Region 5’s jurisdiction.[1]  Our audit objective was to determine whether Towne Mortgage properly implemented its Loss Mitigation program for FHA-insured loans in…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) monitoring of the financial performance of Section 232 nursing homes based on the size of their program, the inherent risks in the program, the length of time since our last audit, and the inclusion of this review in the annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD had sufficient financial information and used this information to adequately…

We conducted this evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) privacy program   We assessed the adequacy of agency strategies, plans, controls and practices at the enterprise and program levels.  We also examined the level of progress achieved since we last evaluated the program in 2014. We found that HUD had updated its privacy impact assessment processes, and took a…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited HUD’s single-family note sales program.  This is the third in a series of audits on the note sales program.  The first audit, 2017-KC-0006, reported that HUD did not conduct rulemaking or develop formal procedures for its single-family note sales program.  The second audit, 2017-KC-0010, reported that HUD generally ensured that…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Meeker Family and Elderly Housing project based on a referral from HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs in Denver, CO.  The project is owned and managed by the Meeker Housing Authority.  HUD alleged that the owner had failed to file audited financial statements or make mortgage payments to HUD for the past 10 years.  Our…

We audited the multifamily Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) program at the Louis Manor Apartments.  We selected Louis Manor in accordance with our goal to review the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) multifamily housing programs and because our analysis of Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System data showed red flag indicators at Louis Manor that appeared to be similar to the conditions we found…

On February 28, 2018, Deloitte entered into a settlement agreement with the Federal Government, agreeing to pay $149.5 million, of which $115 million was restitution.  Deloitte settled allegations for alleged conduct in connection with its role as the independent outside auditor of TBW for TBW’s fiscal years that ended April 30, 2002, through April 30, 2008.  The settlement agreement was neither an admission of liability by Deloitte…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) approval of Section 232 Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans based on our initiative to focus HUD management’s attention on problems areas with the Section 232 program.  Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD approved Section 232 FHA-insured loans for projects that qualified for mortgage insurance in accordance with HUD requirements. HUD…

We audited the Eastwood Terrace Apartments multifamily Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) program.  We selected Eastwood Terrace in accordance with the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) goal to review HUD’s multifamily housing programs and because the OIG Office of Investigation conducted an investigation and suggested that the complex might not have had appropriate controls to ensure tenant eligibility.  Our objective…

We audited the Pinellas County Housing Authority’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) conversion to the Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program and compliance after the conversion.  We selected the Authority for review in keeping with the goals of our annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its RAD conversion in compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (…

The MRB rules on cases against FHA-approved lenders in which there is evidence of serious violations relating to loan origination, servicing activity, and failure to comply with FHA operational guidelines. When the MRB learns that a lender may not be in compliance with FHA requirements, it may take administrative actions to resolve problems with lenders. It does not consider “loss to the government” in these actions. Administrative actions may…

We audited the Federal Housing Administration-insured nursing home, Middlesex Health Care Center in Middletown, CT, because we identified profitability and solvency issues during ongoing work with the Section 232 program.  Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) identified the project as potentially troubled as of November 2017.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the project was operated…

On December 21, 2017, smoke spread from a malfunctioning air-handling unit on the 11th floor to parts of many other floors.  While a smoke detector in an air duct functioned properly and the fire department was notified, there was no audible alarm or public announcement to notify occupants to evacuate. People in one suite described the smoke as “heavy” and “thick.” HUD and the General Services Administration believe that the fire safety…

We audited Diamond Park because of concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Departmental Enforcement Center regarding the management of the project and we had never audited it.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the owner managed the project in accordance with its regulatory agreement and HUD requirements.  We focused the audit on reviewing (1) participant eligibility and their…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted HUD’s Office of General Counsel, Office of Program Enforcement, in the civil investigation of Southern Blvd I, L.P.  The owner executed a housing assistance payments contract for a 73-unit multifamily housing development named Southern Blvd I located in Bronx, NY.  The project received HUD project-based Section 8 assistance for 72…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans from calendar year 2016.  Our audit objective was to determine whether FHA insured loans to borrowers with delinquent Federal debt or who were subject to Federal administrative offset for delinquent child support. FHA insured an estimated 9,507 loans worth $1.9 billion, which were not eligible…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), conducted a review of a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) underwritten by MetLife Home Loans, LLC.  MetLife is an FHA-approved mortgage lender with its principal place of business located in Irving, TX. On June 9, 2017, HUD notified MetLife and the borrower’s son of their potential liability under the…

An independent public accountant performed audits of the Willow Run (FHA no. 092-44100) and Willow Run II (FHA no. 092-35650) multifamily properties for the years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 under the name of The Blackwing Group, LLC.  According to the Minnesota Board of Accountancy, neither the independent public accountant nor The Blackwing Group, LLC, had ever been licensed to perform public accounting engagements in the State of…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) multifamily program based on the results of our audit of Village North Apartments, Salt Lake City, UT (HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit report 2017-DE-1001).  During that audit, we found indications that tenants were able to move into units and become heads of household without being put on the established waiting list.  Our objective was to determine…