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…

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…

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. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in a civil investigation of Residential Home Funding Corp.  Residential Home is a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved mortgage lender having its principal place of business in White Plains, NY. On September 18, 2017,…

We reviewed Seneca Mortgage’s servicing of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages and its implementation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Loss Mitigation program.  We selected Seneca Mortgage based on the results of our single-family risk assessment.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether Seneca Mortgage complied with HUD’s Loss Mitigation program requirements and…

We audited Folts, Inc.’s management of the Folts Adult Home and Folts Home projects to address our concern with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-assisted health care facilities.  We selected this auditee as the result of a risk assessment of nursing homes located in New York State, which considered HUD’s risk indicators and factors such as loan default; internal control issues; and financial statements not being filed…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York, in the civil investigation of Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, also known as M&T Bank.  M&T Bank has its principal place of business in Buffalo, NY.   On March 19, 2013, a former employee of M&T Bank…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York in the civil investigation of Pilgrim Village Associates, L.P.; North-Ellicott Management, Inc.; and Trammell Property Management (Pilgrim Village). Pilgrim Village Associates, L.P., was the owner of Pilgrim Village Apartments, a 90-unit multifamily housing development located in…

We audited Morris Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center based on a risk assessment we performed on nursing homes located in New York and New Jersey.  Morris Park has a Section 232 HUD-insured loan in the amount of $7.4 million.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether Morris Park officials managed funds in compliance with the regulatory agreement and applicable HUD requirements. Morris Park officials generally managed…

We completed a review of First Niagara Bank’s servicing of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages and its implementation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Loss Mitigation program.  We selected First Niagara Bank based on an Office of Inspector General risk assessment of single-family lenders.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether First Niagara Bank properly serviced FHA-…

HUD OIG assisted in an investigation into alleged violations of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) regulations applicable to the direct endorsement program by Golden First Mortgage Corporation and its owner.  Golden First is a former FHA-approved mortgage lender, with its principal place of business located in Great Neck, NY.  Golden First participated in the direct endorsement program from 1989 until 2010.  As a direct…

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 assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, in conducting an investigation of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase).  The investigation began due to a qui tam filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  The False Claims Act allows private persons to file suit for violations of the False Claims Act on behalf of the Government.  A suit filed by an…

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…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, in conducting a review of MortgageIT, Inc. MortgageIT is a residential mortgage banking company headquartered in New York City, NY. Originally founded in 1988, MortgageIT was acquired by Deutsche Bank in 2007, and was a HUD-approved Title II nonsupervised mortgage company. Its home…

We completed an audit of All American Home Mortgage Corp., a nonsupervised lender located in Brooklyn, NY. Our audit objectives were to determine whether All American officials (1) approved Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-FHA, and (2) implemented a quality control plan in accordance with HUD-FHA requirements. All American…

We completed an audit of Ameritrust Mortgage Bankers, Inc., a nonsupervised lender* located in Lake Success. Our audit objectives were to determine whether Ameritrust officials (1) approved FHA-insured loans in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-FHA, and (2) implemented a quality control plan in accordance with HUD-FHA requirements. Ameritrust officials did not always approve FHA-…

We audited Westbeth Artists Houses (auditee) in response to a complaint submitted to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) hotline alleging that project funds were used to pay an executive director in violation of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. Our audit objectives were to assess the merits of the complaint and determine whether project operations generally complied with HUD regulations pertaining to…