We audited Tuscan Homes I and II, a multifamily project located in Hartford, CT, because our risk assessment ranked the project as the highest risk multifamily project in New England.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the owner managed the project in accordance with its regulatory agreement and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements; specifically, whether (1) exigent health and safety deficiencies…

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…

We audited the Federal Housing Administration-insured nursing home, Riverside Health and Rehabilitation Center (the project), of East Hartford, CT, based on our risk assessment of nursing homes in the New England region.  Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) identified the project as potentially troubled as of January 9, 2017, and four physical inspections performed by HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts in the civil investigation of First American Mortgage Trust.  First American has its principal place of business in Brighton, MA, and does business as NXTLoan.Com Corp., a Delaware corporation.  First American is the parent company of NXTL. On October 18, 2016, First…

Sons of Divine Providence did not properly oversee the HUD-insured nursing home to ensure that it operated in accordance with its regulatory agreement.  By not informing HUD of the lawsuits, the changes in management agents, and the loans, Sons of Divine Providence did not provide HUD the necessary data to understand the risk to the HUD insurance fund.  However, when Sons of Divine Providence sold the nursing home and paid off the HUD…

We audited the multifamily project, Glenbrook Manor, in Stamford, CT, based on a request by officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Hartford, CT, Office of Multifamily Housing Programs.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether Glenbrook Manor expended project funds for eligible activities and costs that were reasonable and supported, and whether surplus cash was properly calculated and deposited…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Meridian’s Queen City apartments at the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Single Family Office of Asset Management.  Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority acquired, financed, and managed the purchase of the apartments in accordance with applicable regulations and determine the cause of the Queen City apartments’ Federal Housing…

We audited Ofori & Associates, PC, regarding its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) real estate-owned (REO) Management and Marketing (M&M) III program. This review was part of the Office of Inspector General’s efforts to improve the integrity of the single-family insurance program. Our audit objective was to determine whether Ofori complied with case processing requirements and timeframes to obtain the highest net…

We audited Prysma Lending Group, LLC, a nonsupervised lender, located in Danbury, CT, in support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) goal of improving the integrity of the single-family insurance program. We selected Prysma for audit because its 3.28 percent default rate for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured single-family loans with beginning amortization dates between…

We audited the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved organization providing housing counseling services to qualified home buyers or homeowners with unaffordable mortgage payments. The audit was initiated at the direction of HUD's Inspector General. Our audit objective was to determine whether NACA properly administered its HUD grants used for housing counseling…

We conducted a review of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by Webster Bank (Webster), an FHA direct endorsement lender. This review was conducted as part of our “Operation Watchdog” initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion of the FHA Commissioner. The Commissioner expressed concern regarding the increasing claim rates against the FHA insurance fund for failed loans. The…

We audited the Casa Otonal multifamily housing project, located in New Haven, Connecticut, based on a referral received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Hartford Program Center. The referral disclosed compliance findings regarding the project’s audited financial statements, including instances of unauthorized loans/disbursements to an affiliate. Our primary audit objective was to determine whether the project…

We audited the Milford, Connecticut, branch office of Countrywide Bank, FSB (Countrywide), which is a supervised national bank approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to originate, underwrite, and service Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family insured loans. We selected the Milford, Connecticut, branch office largely based on a lender risk analysis, which showed that the loans it originated had a higher…

We reviewed the use of contract fee inspectors by the Office of Multifamily Housing Boston Hub (Boston Hub) as part of our 2007 annual audit plan. This review was initiated because U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) staff rely on contract fee inspectors to oversee the work of contractors performing renovation work on HUD-insured properties. Our objective was to determine whether the Boston Hub effectively used contract fee…

We audited the records for Moosup Gardens Apartments (project), a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-insured multifamily project in response to a request from HUD. Our audit objective was to determine whether the project's costs were accurately reported to HUD and in accordance with the regulatory agreement and HUD's requirements. We identified questioned costs and opportunities for funds to be put to better use…

Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ALICIA GARDNER, 51, of Griswold, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to embezzling money from federally subsidized housing complexes that she had managed. According to court documents and statements made in court, Gardner was employed by Garden Homes Management Corporation…

BOSTON – The principal and co-founder of a North Andover mortgage short sale assistance company was sentenced yesterday in connection with defrauding mortgage lenders and investors out of nearly $500,000 in proceeds from about 90 short sale transactions. Jaime L. Mulvihill, 40, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to six months in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of…