We reviewed the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH) Electrical Power System Enhancements and Improvements programs to provide (1) background and funding information, (2) an update on the status of the programs and their progress, and (3) other relevant program information for interested stakeholders including Congress and the public. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided its grantee, PRDOH, $1.93…

We audited the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority’s (PRHFA) Homebuyer Assistance Program (HBA), which provides eligible applicants with closing costs and downpayment assistance for the purchase of a primary residence.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided its grantee, the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (PRDOH), $495 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds for HBA Our…

We audited the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH) fraud risk management practices to assess the maturity of its antifraud efforts.  HUD heavily relies on its grantees to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse and PRDOH is HUD’s second largest Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery and Mitigation (CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT) grantee with over $20 billion in block grant funding.  Our objective was to assess PRDOH’s…

We audited the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH) Home Repair, Reconstruction, or Relocation (R3) program.  We initiated this audit as part of our commitment to helping the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) support effectiveness and accountability in long-term disaster recovery.  Our objective was to determine whether PRDOH followed applicable program requirements when spending R3 program funds. During…

We audited the Long Branch Housing Authority based on the results of our previous audits of the Asbury Park and Red Bank Housing Authorities, which received management services and technical assistance from Long Branch for several years. The objective of the audit was to determine whether Long Branch properly handled income and expenses associated with its agreements with Asbury Park and Red Bank in accordance with requirements. Long Branch did…

We audited the Housing Authority of Plainfield, NJ’s administration of its public housing programs.  We selected the Authority based on a risk analysis of public housing agencies in New Jersey that considered the size of the agency, the amount of operating and capital funds received, and previous work conducted by the Office of Inspector General.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority administered its Public…

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 Puerto Rico Department of Housing (PRDOH) in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General’s (HUD OIG) goal to review disaster funding and based on a congressional request for HUD OIG to conduct capacity reviews for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria grantees.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the PRDOH had the capacity to (1) administer its Community…

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 Municipality of Yauco’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program as part of our strategic plan.  We selected this auditee because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classified the Municipality as a high-risk grantee in its 2017 risk assessment review.  Our objective was to determine whether the Municipality complied with HUD regulations, procedures, and instructions related to the…

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 audited the Newark Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher Program. We selected the Authority for review because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) authorized more than $111 million in program funding for its Housing Choice Voucher Program in fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and based on our risk analysis of public housing agencies located in the State of New Jersey. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the…

We audited the Red Bank Housing Authority based on the results of our audit of Asbury Park Housing Authority because both public housing agencies had agreements with the Long Branch Housing Authority to provide services.  The objective of this audit was to determine whether the Authority administered its Public Housing Operating and Capital Fund programs in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal,…

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 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 Housing Authority of the City of Asbury Park based on our risk analysis of public housing agencies located in the State of New Jersey.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority administered its Public Housing Operating and Capital Fund programs in accordance with applicable U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal, and Authority requirements. The Authority did not always…

We audited Hudson County, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships program (HOME) as part of the activities in our annual audit plan.  We selected the County based on a risk analysis that considered the amount of funding, the risk score assigned to it by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and our identification of potential issues.  Our objective was to determine whether the County committed and disbursed HOME funds…

We audited the Yabucoa Volunteers of America Elderly Housing, Inc., Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program.  We selected the Yabucoa housing project for review based on concerns regarding the slow progress of the project as noted during the audit of the Puerto Rico Department of Housing multifamily special escrow funds.  The objective of this audit was to determine whether Volunteers used Section 202 funds in…