We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) computing environment as part of the internal control assessments required for the fiscal year 2016 financial statement audit under the Chief Financial Officer’s Act of 1990.  Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of the controls over the New Core Interface Solution (NCIS) and PRISM™ and the impact of the implementation of release 3 of phase 1 of the New Core…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) process for making changes to its programs, policies, and operations based on an Office of Inspector General (OIG) preaudit analysis that noted potential violations of departmental clearance requirements for three documents.  Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD followed the proper requirements and procedures when…

This report was revised on March 30, 2017 to change the cost type for recommendation 1A on pages 8 and 13 from unreasonable or unnecessary to funds to be put to better use. This change is needed to align the report language with the terminology used by HUD’s audit tracking system. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited HUD’s Office of Public and Indian…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program and found that 33 borrowers had more than 1 loan under the program.  Having multiple loans violated program requirements because HUD requires borrowers to reside in the mortgaged residence as their principal residence and borrowers may not have more than one principal residence at a time.  We referred…

The Inspector General Act of 1978 requires the Inspector General to prepare semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office of Inspector General for the preceding six-month periods. The semiannual reports are intended to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the Agency has made and recommendations for improvement.

The Houston Housing Authority, Houston, TX, Needs To Improve Its Procurement and Financial Operations and Its Housing Choice Voucher Program Subsidy Determinations We audited the Houston Housing Authority’s public housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs.  We selected the Authority for review in accordance with our audit plan and based upon risk analyses.  Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority (1) followed U.S.…

Based on the results of a prior audit, we reviewed Fort Worth Housing Solutions (FWHS) and transactions with its related entity QuadCo Management Solutions, LLC (QuadCo) of Fort Worth, TX.  Our objectives were to determine whether FWHS (1) properly managed its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds, specifically whether it improperly loaned $1.6 million in HUD funds to QuadCo; (2) paid management fees within HUD’s…

This report was reissued on February 24, 2017, to correct Appendix A. This reissued report now correctly shows the monetary benefit associated with each recommendation. This report supplements our independent auditor’s report on the results of our audit of HUD’s principal financial statements for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2016 and 2015 (Restated) related to HUD’s internal controls and compliance with applicable laws, regulations,…

This report presents the results of our audit of Ginnie Mae’s fiscal years 2016 and 2015 (restated) financial statements, including our report on Ginnie Mae’s internal control and test of compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations applicable to Ginnie Mae.  For the third consecutive year, in fiscal year 2016, we were unable to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to express an opinion on the fairness of the $ 4.2…

(Reissued on 7/7/17) This report was reissued on July 7, 2017, to correct Appendix A. This reissued report now correctly shows the monetary benefit associated with each recommendation. This report presents the results of our audit of FHA’s fiscal years 2016 and 2015 (restated) financial statements, including our report on FHA’s internal control and test of compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations applicable to FHA.  In…

The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) directs Inspectors General to conduct an annual evaluation of the agency information security program.  FISMA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) establish information technology (IT) security guidance and standards for Federal agencies. We conducted this evaluation to assess…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Multifamily Housing Programs’ implementation of use agreement restrictions for affordable set-aside units because it was included in our audit plan based on a prior audit, which determined that a multifamily project owner did not comply with project use agreement restrictions.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether HUD ensured compliance with use…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of funds covered under the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990 in HUD’s Line of Credit Control System1 based on information obtained during our audit of Carmen-Marine Apartments (2015-CH-1010).  The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2016 annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited HUD to determine whether it paid servicers’ claims for properties that did not foreclose or convey on time.  We initiated this audit due to concerns that HUD overpaid servicers’ claims for FHA insurance benefits. HUD paid claims for an estimated 239,000 properties that servicers did not foreclose upon or convey on time.  HUD paid an…

We audited HUD’s compliance with the fiscal year 2015 travel and purchase card programs based on our required fiscal year 2014 risk assessment, which determined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) agencywide charge card program to be at medium risk for fraud. Offices of inspector general are required to (1) conduct periodic assessments of the agency charge card programs, (2) perform analyses or audits as necessary, and…

We audited Park View Care Center’s owner based on a referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Departmental Enforcement Center.  Our objective was to determine whether the property owner complied with the owner’s regulatory agreement and HUD requirements for the Section 232 program.  Park View’s owner did not comply with all the terms of its regulatory agreement and HUD requirements.  Specifically…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) controls over its certifications of State disaster recovery grantee procurement processes.  We initiated the audit after prior audits identified issues with the procurement certification completed for the State of New Jersey.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD certifications of State disaster grantee procurement processes were accurate and supported. HUD…

The Office of Hospital Facilities (OHF) provides mortgage insurance for acute care hospitals.  The insurance it provides reduces risk to lenders and lowers borrowing costs for hospitals.  As of May 2016, the unpaid principal balance for its 105 insured mortgages was approximately $7 billion. OHF collects and generates many records to support its mission.  These records include application materials, internal reports, and…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York and Northern District of California, in conducting an investigation of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s origination and underwriting of mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Based in part on our review, the United States alleged…

We audited the Harris County Community Services Department’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based on our risk analysis and as part of our annual audit plan to review community planning and development funds.  The audit objective was to determine whether the Department properly administered and adequately documented its CDBG program activities in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)…