The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited the City and County of Denver’s (City) Neighborhood Stabilization Program I (NSP I). We selected the City for review based on our risk assessment considering the amount of Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 NSP funds it received and expended along with other evaluative factors. The…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, reviewed the Housing Authority of the City of Pueblo, CO (Authority), based on out risk assessment considering the amount of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) capital funds it received and expended along with other evaluative factors. The review is consistent with our responsibility to provide oversight of Recovery Act…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the State of Illinois’ (State) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (Program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2010 annual audit plan. We selected the State based upon citizens’ complaints to our office. Our objectives were to determine whether the State (1) had the capacity to effectively and efficiently administer its Program…

We performed a review of 20 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by Assurity Financial Services, LLC (Assurity). Our review objective was to determine whether Assurity underwrote the 20 loans in accordance with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements. This review is part of Operation Watchdog, an Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the…

We performed a review of 20 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by Assurity Financial Services, LLC (Assurity). Our review objective was to determine whether Assurity underwrote the 20 loans in accordance with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements. This review is part of Operation Watchdog, an Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General reviewed 20 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans that 1st Advantage Mortgage, LLC (1st Advantage), underwrote as an FHA direct endorsement lender. Our review objective was to determine whether 1st Advantage underwrote the 20 loans in accordance with FHA requirements. This review was conducted as part of our Operation Watchdog initiative to review the…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited Access National Mortgage Corporation (Access National) to determine whether it complied with HUD regulations, procedures, and instructions in originating, underwriting, and submitting for endorsement the FHA-insured loans selected for review. Access National generally complied with HUD regulations, procedures, and instructions in the origination and…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the DuPage Housing Authority’s (Authority) Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program (program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority as part of our internal audit of HUD’s oversight of the program and based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing authorities in…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the City of East St. Louis, Illinois’ (City) Community Development Block Grant (Block Grant) program. Our objectives were to determine whether the City properly expended Block Grant funds for salaries and building expenses and followed proper procurement processes while awarding significant administration contracts. The City did not properly…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited Kier Property Management and Real Estate, LLC (Kier) to determine whether Kier properly accounted for property and management agent costs and properly accomplished its occupancy functions. Kier recorded more than $2 million in notes payable in the properties’ books for notes that did not properly restrict repayment of the principal to surplus cash…

The City of Aurora, Colorado will receive more than $1.6 million in Recovery Act funding to carry out its Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program and perform additional activities under its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the City's capacity to administer its Recovery Act funds. The OIG did not find evidence to indicate that the City lacked the capacity…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Chicago Housing Authority’s (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (program) under its Moving to Work Demonstration program. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing agencies in Region V’s jurisdiction.…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the DuPage Housing Authority’s (Authority) Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program (program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based on our internal audit survey of HUD’s oversight of the program and our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing authorities in Region V’s…

Adams County, Colorado will receive more than $1.3 million in Recovery Act funding to carry out its Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program and to provide additional funding to its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the County's capacity to administer its Recovery Act funds. The OIG found weaknesses that could significantly affect the County’s capacity to…

The East St. Louis Housing Authority will receive $4.9 million in Recovery Act funding to carry out capital and management activities at its public housing developments. HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the Authority's capacity to administer its Recovery Act funds. The OIG found several weaknesses that could adversely affect its capacity to administer these funds and recommended that HUD require corrective action on…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited Adams County, Colorado’s Community Development Block Grant (Block Grant) program to determine whether Adams County’s Community and Economic Opportunity Department (Department) had adequate controls over the administration of its Block Grant funds. The Department did not have adequate controls over its Block Grant funds. Specifically, it did not (1)…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector reviewed Cook County’s (County) Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The review was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the County based upon the results of our three previous audits of the County’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). Our objective was to determine whether the County had the capacity to effectively…

The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General audited the City of Thornton (City) to determine whether it used its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for projects that met a national objective. The City did not maintain sufficient records demonstrating that each CDBG activity met a national objective. Of the 10 CDBG projects reviewed, the City sufficiently documented that five of the projects…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Chicago Housing Authority's (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (program) under its Moving to Work Demonstration program. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2008 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing agencies in Region V's…

The Authority's program administration regarding housing assistance payment calculations and zero-income households was inadequate. The Authority did not effectively manage its housing assistance calculation and payment process in accordance with HUD requirements, resulting in nearly $57,000 in overpayment, more than $21,000 in unsupported payments and nearly $22,000 in underpayment for the period January 1, 2007, through August 31, 2008.…