The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Washington, DC, in the civil investigation of Quicken Loans, Inc.  The investigation was of Quicken’s origination, underwriting, endorsement, and related certifications of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgage loans between September 1, 2007, and December 31, 2011.  Quicken has…

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 Eastern and Western Districts of Washington in the civil investigation of Universal American Mortgage Company, LLC.  Our investigation was ongoing when a qui tam action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.  Universal…

We audited the Civic Towers, LLLP, and Civic Towers Senior, LLLP, Section 8 project-based housing assistance payment (HAP) program.  We selected the Civic Towers and Civic Towers Senior Section 8 project-based properties for review based on a referral from our Office of Investigation regarding a potential duplication of benefits between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (…

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 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 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, Eastern District of Michigan, in the civil investigation of United Shore Financial Services, LLC.  United Shore is a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved mortgage lender, with its principal place of business located in Troy, MI. United Shore became…

We audited P.K. Management Group, Inc. (PKMG), a contracted field service manager in HUD’s real estate-owned Management and Marketing III program, as part of the activities included in our 2016 annual audit plan and because it was the sole contractor performing property preservation and protection services for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-acquired properties located in Illinois in Region’s 5 jurisdiction.  Our…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG), in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, conducted a review of GTL Investments, Inc., doing business as John Adams Mortgage Company regarding its originations, underwriting, quality control, and endorsement of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. The U.S. Government contended that it had certain…

We audited Member First Mortgage, Limited Liability Company, a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) nonsupervised servicer as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2015 annual audit plan.  We selected Member First based upon our analysis of risk factors for single-family servicing lenders in Region 5’s jurisdiction.   Our audit objectives were to determine whether (1) Member First complied with the U.S. Department of Housing…

We audited Prudential Huntoon Paige Associates, LTD’s underwriting of a $22.8 million mortgage loan to refinance Lafayette Towers Apartments, a 584-unit highrise multifamily project in Detroit, MI.  We initiated the review based on the early default, assignment, and significant amount of the project.  Our objective was to determine whether Prudential underwrote and processed the loan for Lafayette Towers according to the U.S.…

HUD OIG assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, in the civil investigation of Group One Mortgage, Inc.  Group One’s principal place of business is located in Jupiter, FL.  Group One has participated in the FHA insurance program since 2004 and became a direct endorsement lender in 2005.  The direct endorsement program authorizes private-sector mortgage lenders to approve mortgage loans for FHA insurance…

We audited Lake Village of Fairlane Apartments as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 annual audit plan.  We selected the project based on a referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Detroit Office of Multifamily Housing Programs.  Our objective was to determine whether the project’s owner and former management agents operated the project in accordance with HUD’s requirements and the…

We audited the Lake Village of Auburn Hills multifamily project as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 annual audit plan.  We selected the project based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Detroit Office of Multifamily Housing.  Our objective was to determine whether the project’s owner and former management agents operated the project in accordance with the regulatory agreement…

We audited EverBank’s Preforeclosure Sale Program because it had the highest Florida preforeclosure sale claims of all servicing lenders located in Florida and more than 50 percent of its Florida Federal Housing Administration (FHA) claims were from preforeclosure sales with more than $12.9 million paid from 2011 through 2013.  Our objective was to determine whether EverBank properly determined that mortgagors were eligible to participate…

We audited the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s multifamily project-based Section 8 program for new-regulation projects as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2013 annual audit plan.  We selected the Authority based on a referral from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) management.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in accordance with HUD’s requirements…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), conducted a review of Section 8 housing assistance payments made to Lynn Leggins, a landlord, for a tenant with whom he lived. The objective of our review was to determine whether Mr. Leggins received housing assistance payments that he was not eligible to receive. HUD’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program provides rental subsidies through tenant…

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 Flagstar Bank, FSB. The objective of the review was to determine whether Flagstar conducted its operations in the underwriting of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans in accordance with HUD-FHA regulations. Flagstar Bank, FSB, is a supervised direct…

HUD OIG audited Universal American Mortgage, Co. LLC, located in Miami, FL, in accordance with our annual audit plan. Universal was selected for review because its default rate of 3.8 percent was higher than the Miami area default rate of 1.9 percent. Our objectives were to determine whether the lender followed U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements when originating and underwriting loans and implementing its…

HUD OIG audited Nationwide Mortgage & Associates, Inc., a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved non-supervised direct endorsement lender located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. We selected this lender because its default rate of 4 percent was higher than the Miami U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) area average default rate of 2 percent. The audit objectives were to determine whether the lender followed HUD requirements…

HUD OIG performed an audit of Crossfire Financial Network, Inc., d/b/a CFN Mortgage Capital (Crossfire), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved direct endorsement lender located in Miami, Florida. The review was performed based on the lender’s volume of loans underwritten and its default rate. The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the lender followed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements…