We audited the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Budget and Fiscal Services’ and Department of Community Services’ (City) fraud risk management practices for its Emergency Solutions Grants Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (ESG CARES Act) program with the objective of assessing the maturity of the City’s fraud risk management framework that encompasses control activities to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud. …

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Benkelman Housing Authority based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG), Office of Investigation.  Additionally, HUD conducted an onsite assessment in May 2016 and identified concerns, including procurement, income verification, travel policy, and significant control…

We audited Luther Towers II because it was a high-risk multifamily project that received low inspection and financial assessment scores on our multifamily risk assessment for projects within our region and we had never audited it.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the owner managed the project in accordance with its regulatory agreement and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The owner of Luther…

We audited the City and County of Honolulu’s (City) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.  We conducted the audit because the City was the largest Pacific island recipient of CDBG funds, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had identified problems with the City’s CDBG program, and the Office of Inspector General had never audited the City.  Our objective was to determine whether the City administered…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Office of Inspector General audited the Fairmont Housing Authority in Fairmont, NE, regarding its procurement and expenditures for its HUD, Office of Public and Indian Housing programs.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority followed HUD rules and regulations and its own policies and procedures for procurement and expenditures. The Authority did not properly…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Office of Inspector General audited the York Housing Authority in York, NE, regarding its procurement and expenditures for its HUD, Office of Public and Indian Housing programs.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority followed HUD rules and regulations and its own policies and procedures for procurement and expenditures. The Authority did not properly procure…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Office of Inspector General audited the Stromsburg Housing Authority in Stromsburg, NE, regarding its procurement and expenditures for its HUD, Office of Public and Indian Housing programs.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority followed HUD rules and regulations and its own policies and procedures for procurement and expenditures. The Authority did not…

We audited the Wilmington Housing Authority's administration of its Public Housing Capital Fund Recovery Act-Funded Formula and Competitive Grants that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). We selected the Authority for audit because it received a $5.2 million Public Housing Capital Fund Formula (Recovery Act-Funded) grant and two Public Housing Capital Fund Competitive (Recovery Act-Funded)…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Omaha Nebraska Housing Authority (Authority) to determine whether the Authority (1) obligated Recovery Act grant funds in accordance with Recovery Act requirements and applicable U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules, (2) expended Recovery Act grant funds in accordance with Recovery Act requirements and applicable HUD rules…

As part of the Office of Inspector General’s annual audit plan, we completed a capacity review of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ (Department) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) funding. Our objective was to determine whether the Department had sufficient capacity to manage and administer its Recovery Act funding. Specifically, we reviewed and assessed the Department’s capacity in the following areas:…

We audited the Wilmington Housing Authority’s (Authority) administration of its housing quality standards inspection program for its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program as part of our fiscal year 2009 audit plan. The audit objective was to determine whether the Authority adequately administered its Section 8 housing quality standards inspection program to ensure that its program units met housing quality standards in accordance with U.S.…

We audited the Newark, Delaware, branch office (branch office) of J.P. Morgan Chase bank (J.P. Morgan Chase), a supervised direct endorsement lender approved to originate Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family mortgage loans. We selected the branch office because its default rate was above the state’s average default rate. Our objective was to determine whether J.P. Morgan Chase complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

We audited the Newark, Delaware, branch office (branch office) of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Wells Fargo). The branch office is mainly responsible for underwriting loans for 22 Wells Fargo sales branch offices in Pennsylvania. We selected the branch office because of its relatively high default rate, compared with the average default rate for the state of Pennsylvania. Our objective was to determine whether the branch office complied with U.S.…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Schuyler Housing Authority (Authority) to determine whether the Authority improperly spent public housing assets when developing and operating an assisted living program. We found that the Authority inappropriately used more than $78,000 in public housing funds to pay expenses of a non-HUD assisted living program. In addition, the Authority…

HUD OIG reviewed the development activities of the Douglas County Housing Authority (Authority), Omaha, Nebraska, to determine whether the Authority encumbered or spent U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) assets for nonfederal development activities without HUD approval. The Authority inappropriately encumbered nearly $1.67 million in federal assets when it entered into loan documents containing setoff provisions against the…

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss announced today that landlords Goodfish Enterprises, LLC; Reliant Property Management Company; and Christopher Lukacs have agreed to pay $430,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act during their participation in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), commonly known as “Section 8.”  The HCVP is the federal…

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Raelene Rodrigues, 62, of Honolulu, Hawaii was sentenced today. Rodrigues was the last of four defendants convicted and sentenced in connection with charges involving a scheme to defraud federally funded local housing programs for over $100,000 from approximately April 2015 to August 2017. Co-defendants Leopoldo Bitte, Jr., 38, of Hilo Hawaii, Gregory Lau, 40, of San Leandro, California, and separately-charged defendant Kalani…

United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that James R. Barger, Jr., 49, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain. United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., expressing concerns about COVID-19 in the jails, sentenced Barger to two years’ supervised release and required Barger to perform 80 hours of community service per year. Barger will also pay a…

WILMINGTON, Del. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment on February 13, 2020, charging a Baltimore, Maryland woman with one count of theft from a Wilmington company receiving federal funds. According to the indictment, April Pritchett, 37, engaged in a scheme to defraud her former employer, referred to as Company A in the indictment, a property management and development company based in Wilmington, Delaware.  Company A receives…