We audited the City of Mesa’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based on (1) a hotline complaint alleging CDBG noncompliance; (2) a prior U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audit (2011-LA-1006), which determined that the City needed to improve how it administered its Neighborhood Stabilization Program 1 funds; and (3) our objective to promote fiscal responsibility and financial…

We audited Bank2’s origination of Section 184 Loan Guarantees for Indian Housing program loans.  We selected Bank2’s Section 184 program because (1) an internal audit report and corrective action verification determined that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lacked proper oversight of the program and lenders did not underwrite loans in accordance with HUD requirements 2) Bank2 is one of the largest Section 184…

On April 17, 2018, the Office of Program Enforcement issued a letter stating that it had reached a resolution under a Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986[1] case regarding Summit Bradford Apartments located in Tulsa, OK, following its review.  The Government alleged that the owner submitted 40 false claims under the Act.  The Office of Program Enforcement included with its letter the March 28, 2018, settlement agreement with BSR…

We audited the City of Chattanooga’s Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program.  We selected the City for review in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City administered its ESG program in accordance with HUD’s requirements. The City did not always administer its ESG program in accordance with HUD’s requirements.  Specifically, it did not ensure that program expenditures were…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Tulsa’s administration of its Section 8 program.  We selected the Authority based on reports generated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Enterprise Income Verification system (EIV).  The Authority had indicators of noncompliance with program requirements.  Specifically, EIV reported an annualized income discrepancy of more than $1.6 million for 328…

We audited Shelby County’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant.  We selected the County for review in accordance with our annual audit plan and because the County received more than $7.4 million in funding to recover from severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding that occurred in April 2011.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the County ensured that (1) funds were spent only…

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…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), referred alleged violations to HUD’s Office of Program Enforcement for action under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act based on two audits of DHI Mortgage Company Ltd.  (DHIM) that found it did not follow HUD requirements when it underwrote Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans with prohibited restrictive addenda to the purchase…

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, District of Colorado, in the civil investigation of Franklin American Mortgage Company.  Franklin American has its principal place of business in Franklin, TN.  Franklin American became an FHA-approved direct endorsement lender in 1995.  As a direct…

We audited the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s use of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds in accordance with the Office of Inspector General’s goal to ensure the integrity and soundness of HUD’s Public and Indian Housing programs and to follow up on weaknesses identified in other reviews.  The audit objective was to determine whether the Nation complied with HUD requirements when it housed families and procured contracts…

We reviewed the disbursement of project funds for seven of the Sections 202 and 811 supportive housing projects for the elderly and persons with disabilities managed by Taliafaro, Inc.  We initiated the audit under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General’s annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether Taliafaro used project funds appropriately and operated multifamily…

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, Northern District of Georgia, in conducting a review of First Tennessee has its principal place of business in Memphis, TN and is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Horizon Financial Corporation.  First Tennessee became an FHA-approved direct endorsement…

We audited Coconut Grove Apartments due to concerns expressed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Multifamily Housing Programs regarding the management of the project.  The main concern was that the owner may have diverted project funds for nonproject expenses.  Our audit objective was to determine whether Coconut Grove’s owner operated its Sections 223(f) and 241(a)-insured multifamily rental…

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 NOVA Financial & Investment Corporation based on a referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Quality Assurance Division detailing a separate lender that originated Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans that contained ineligible downpayment assistance gifts.  The HUD Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) analysis identified NOVA as a lender with the highest origination volume in the…

HUD OIG conducted a civil investigation of an alleged loan origination fraud scheme involving a cash-out refinance loan that was insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).  FHA provides mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders to creditworthy borrowers.  Borrowers must occupy the properties as their primary residence for at least 1 year.  Borrowers certify to their intent to occupy the property when…

We audited Peoples Home Equity, Inc.(Peoples), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved nonsupervised direct endorsement lender located in Brentwood, TN.  We selected Peoples based on its high default rates.  The audit was part of our annual audit plan to review single family programs and lenders.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether Peoples complied with HUD requirements when it originated and underwrote FHA…

We audited the Memphis, TN, Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 audit plan.  We selected the Authority because it had a large program, receiving about $40 million in yearly funding, and was part of the OIG’s annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority’s inspection process adequately ensured that its units were in material compliance with…

We reviewed Southwest Stage Funding, LLC, dba Cascade Financial Services, in Gilbert, AZ.  We selected Southwest Stage because it originated 1,841 loans totaling more than $244 million during calendar years 2012 and 2013.  Further, it had received more loan endorsements on manufactured housing loans than any other lender in Texas since January 1, 2009.  Our objective was to determine whether the lender complied with U.S.…

We audited the White Mountain Apache Housing Authority’s Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG).  We conducted the audit primarily due to concerns raised by HUD’s Southwest Office of Native American Programs regarding the Authority’s financial management practices.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority used its IHBG funds in accordance with HUD requirements. The Authority failed to use its IHBG funds in…