We audited the Boston Housing Authority’s public housing program to determine whether the physical condition of the Authority’s program units complied with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and the Authority’s requirements.  The audit was initiated based on our assessment of risks associated with public housing agencies’ program units and recent media attention and public concern about the condition of subsidized…

We audited the Boston Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.  We initiated this audit based upon our assessment of risks associated with public housing agencies' HCV Program units, as well as recent media attention and public concern about the conditions of subsidized housing properties.  Our objective was to determine whether the physical conditions of the Authority’s HCV units complied with both the U.S. Department…

This report is the first in a series of reports taking an in-depth look at how six communities used the pandemic funding they received to address a wide range of needs. The first area was focused on the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, with a detailed look at 9 of the 52 pandemic progams that provided funding to the community.

We audited the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights’ fair housing complaint intake process.  We initiated this audit based on an internal risk assessment of Fair Housing Assistance Program agencies’ challenges.  Our audit objectives were to (1) determine the extent to which the Commission processed fair housing inquiries within 30 days and (2) evaluate its reasons for closing fair housing inquiries.We were unable to determine the extent…

We audited the State of Florida’s Housing Repair and Replacement Program (HRRP), one of the programs that the State developed to address its unmet disaster recovery housing needs because of Hurricane Irma in 2017.  We audited this program due to the large amount of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding allocated of $346.2 million.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the State administered its…

We audited the Springfield Housing Authority’s Public Housing Operating Fund and Capital Fund programs because the Authority ranked fifth highest on our risk assessment of Massachusetts public housing agencies and is the third largest in the State. In addition, we had not audited the Authority in more than 10 years. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority complied with procurement and contract administration…

We audited the Palm Beach County Housing Authority in West Palm Beach, FL, based on concerns raised by news articles stating that the Authority dismissed its former executive director because of financial misconduct and ethical violations.  The concerns included bonuses paid and payments for contracted services.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority spent U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)…

We audited the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ (State) Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program because the State was the largest recipient of CDBG funds in New England.  HUD awarded the State more than $88 million in CDBG funding for program years 2015, 2016, and 2017.  In addition, we had not audited any of the State’s community planning and development programs in the last 10 years.  Our audit objective was…

We audited the Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Government’s tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) activity in its HOME Investment Partnerships and Continuum of Care (CoC) programs, based on a hotline complaint alleging inappropriate administration of TBRA.  In addition, we selected Louisville Metro for review in accordance with the Office of Inspector General’s annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington in the civil investigation of Universal American Mortgage Company, LLC.  Our investigation was ongoing when a qui tam action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.  Universal…

We audited the Civic Towers, LLLP, and Civic Towers Senior, LLLP, Section 8 project-based housing assistance payment (HAP) program.  We selected the Civic Towers and Civic Towers Senior Section 8 project-based properties for review based on a referral from our Office of Investigation regarding a potential duplication of benefits between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (…

We reviewed the State of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program.  We selected the State of Florida in accordance with our goal to review disaster funding and based on a congressional request for us to conduct disaster capacity reviews for recent disasters, including Hurricanes Hermine, Matthew, and Irma.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the…

We audited the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program based on our risk assessment of all Kentucky public housing agencies and as part of the activities in our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program units in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and its own requirements. The Authority…

We audited the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Housing Authority’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) conversion to the Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program and compliance with requirements after the conversion.  We selected the Authority for review in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority complied with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD…

We audited the Pinellas County Housing Authority’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) conversion to the Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program and compliance after the conversion.  We selected the Authority for review in keeping with the goals of our annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its RAD conversion in compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (…

We audited the City of Margate’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grants 1 and 3 in accordance with our audit plan to improve the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) execution of and accountability for grant funds.  In addition, HUD requested that we review this auditee because a forensic investigation initiated by the City found issues with record keeping, misappropriation of funds, and overages regarding City…

We audited the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s (Commonwealth) administration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) based on a referral from the Louisville, KY, Office of Community Planning and Development and in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether the Commonwealth administered its NSP1 and NSP3 grants in accordance with HUD’s…

We audited the City of Jacksonville, FL’s HOME Investment Partnerships program as part of the activities in our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City administered its HOME program in accordance with applicable U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements.  Specifically, we evaluated whether the City (1) properly supported HOME commitments in the Integrated Disbursement and…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts in the civil investigation of First American Mortgage Trust.  First American has its principal place of business in Brighton, MA, and does business as NXTLoan.Com Corp., a Delaware corporation.  First American is the parent company of NXTL. On October 18, 2016, First…

We audited the Louisville Metro Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program based on our risk assessment of all Kentucky public housing agencies and as part of the activities in our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program units in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and its own requirements.  The Authority did not…