HUD OIG found that the Authority did not always ensure that its HCV Program units met HUD’s housing quality standards and did not consistently stop payments to owners who failed to correct unit deficiencies. We also found the Authority did not comply with HUD’s monitoring and data collection requirements of the Lead Safe Housing Rule for cases of children with elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs).  

HUD OIG found that the Authority did not adequately manage lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in its public housing, including failing to perform timely lead‐based paint visual inspections in an estimated 4,762 units.  

The Justice Department announced today that Kevin Martin, an owner and manager of residential rental properties in and around Athens, Ohio, has agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed female tenants and housing applicants in violation of the Fair Housing Act.The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges that, from at least 2010 to at least 2020, Martin requested…

The review found the Puerto Rico Department of Housing budgeted most of its $1.93 billion disaster recovery funds for its two main electrical grid programs which were launched in 2023. Both programs are in their early implementation stages.  As of July 12, 2024, PRDOH had spent less than 1 percent of its total budget for both programs – only $179,761 of $1.93 billion.   

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report examining the City and County of Honolulu ’s Department of Budget and Fiscal Services’ and Department of Community Services’ (the City) practices for preventing, detecting, and responding to fraud in the administration of more than $25 million in HUD’s Emergency Solutions Grant Cares Act (ESG-CV) program funding…

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report examining the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) practices for preventing, detecting, and responding to fraud in the administration of over $319 million in pandemic funding through HUD’s Emergency Solutions Grant – CARES Act (ESG-CV) program.Congress appropriated $4 billion for ESG-CV grants to…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General issued a report examining the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority’s (Authority) management of cases of children with elevated blood lead levels and oversight of lead‐based paint and associated hazards in its public housing program.The Authority is one of the 10 largest public housing authorities (PHA) in the country with approximately…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General issued a report examining the physical condition of Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program units at the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (Authority). The HCV Program, also known as Section 8, is the Federal Government’s largest tenant-based rental assistance program for low-income families, the elderly, and persons with…

Program Focused on Eliminating Environmental Hazards and Combatting Sexual Misconduct in HUD-Assisted HousingWASHINGTON – Members of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, today, heard presentations and had discussions with U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis at a panel focused on promoting the health, safety, and civil liberty of tenants living in HUD-assisted…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man who estimated he filed more than 3,000 fraudulent COVID-relief applications was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 72 months in prison.The fraud scheme perpetuated by Ousmane Diane, 24, caused a loss of more than $908,000. He submitted applications for more than $2 million in funding.Diane pleaded guilty in October 2023 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.According to court documents, Diane used the…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit report examining the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority’s (PRHFA) Homebuyer Assistance Program (HBA). The HBA program was developed by the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (PRDOH) to incentivize families to stay in Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and Maria by providing eligible applicants with closing…

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati tenant pleaded guilty in federal court today to making false statements accusing her landlord of violating the Fair Housing Act.Dermisha Pickett, 33, fabricated messages from her landlord stating the landlord did not want Black tenants.According to court documents, in February 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was forwarded several text messages purportedly sent by the Cincinnati-area landlord as part of a civil rights…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit examining HUD’s efforts to prevent duplication of benefits when using Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery and Mitigation (CDBG-DR/MIT) funds. HUD and more than 30 other federal agencies are responsible for providing money and other resources to states and territories impacted by natural disasters,…

CLEVELAND –United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko announced today that Arthur Fayne, 61, who managed the development of the New East Side Market, was found guilty of all 9 counts of wire fraud for embezzling more than $880,000 in funds intended to help the residents of Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, but which Fayne used for an extravagant lifestyle with extensive casino gambling. The trial lasted five days and was presided over by U.…

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against Joseph Earl Lucas of Amesville, Ohio, for sexually harassing female tenants and housing applicants in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Lucas has owned and managed more than 70 residential rental properties in and around Athens County, Ohio. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges that since at least 2004, Lucas requested sex acts from female…

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati tenant is charged with federal crimes related to making false statements accusing her landlord of violating the Fair Housing Act. Dermisha Pickett, 33, allegedly fabricated messages from her landlord stating the landlord did not want Black tenants. Pickett appeared in federal court in Cincinnati yesterday after self-surrendering. Her case was unsealed today. “False reports to law enforcement, as alleged in this case,…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The former director of a local Islamic center was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to four months in prison then four months in a halfway house followed by 12 months of home confinement for embezzling funds from the mosque, defrauding public housing, and filing for fraudulent COVID assistance funds. Ahmed A. Sh. Ahmed, 44, of Gahanna, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to committing wire fraud, submitting a false statement…

WASHINGTON – Nicole Freeman Smith, 51, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty today in Superior Court to one felony count and one misdemeanor count of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult or elderly person (FEVA) for stealing more than $133,000 from two elderly District residents suffering from cognitive impairment. The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb, and Special Agent…

DAYTON, Ohio – A Tipp City man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 18 months in prison for defrauding a local non-profit organization. He was also ordered to pay $94,942 in restitution. Antoine Draines, 43, defrauded Miami Valley Community Action Partnership (MVCAP) of rental assistance funds. MVCAP received federal funding as part of the CARES Act. According to court documents, Draines controlled and operated Freedom for Living…

      WASHINGTON DC—Apex Waukegan LLC (Apex), a multifamily housing landlord receiving rental assistance subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Integra Affordable Management LLC (Integra), Apex’s affiliated management agent, were ordered to pay $1,258,671 in civil money penalties for breaching their Housing Assistance Payment Contract (HAP contract) by knowingly failing to maintain…