We audited the Rockford Housing Authority’s (Authority) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus Formula and Competitive grants. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2011 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based on a citizen complaint. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its grants in accordance with Recovery Act and U.S.…

We reviewed the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency’s (Agency) Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2). We selected the Agency for review because it received, in a consortium established with The Housing Fund, Urban Housing Solutions, and Woodbine Community Organization, a nearly $30.5 million NSP2 grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Agency was the only NSP2 grant recipient in Tennessee. Our…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the DuPage Housing Authority’s (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2010 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based on the results of our audits of its Project-Based Voucher program. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority effectively…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the East St. Louis Housing Authority’s (Authority) Public Housing Capital Fund program. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority had proper support for its capital fund draws. We concluded that the Authority drew down grant funds for ineligible items and without adequate support. Specifically, it made unsupported draws, excessive…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the City of East St. Louis, Illinois’ (City) Community Development Block Grant (Block Grant) program. Our objective was to determine whether the City properly managed Block Grant-funded housing rehabilitation contracts. We found that the City awarded more than $1 million in Block Grant funds for 124 of the 147 rehabilitation contracts reviewed…

We audited the Housing Authority of the County of Cook’s (Authority) nonprofit development activities. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2010 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority’s nonprofit development activities based on a citizen’s complaint forwarded to our office from the County of Cook, IL’s Office of the Independent Inspector General. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), completed a review of loan origination practices of Anchor Mortgage Corporation (Anchor), Chicago, IL. Our objective was to identify violations of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements and the related losses incurred by HUD. Based on our review, HUD sued the lender and its owner under the False Claims Act. In August 2010, the court…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the City of East St. Louis, Illinois’ (City) Community Development Block Grant (Block Grant) program. Our objective was to determine whether the City properly verified the eligibility of Block Grant-funded housing rehabilitation recipients. We found that the City awarded Block Grant funds to 143 recipients without adequately verifying their…

We conducted a review of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by First Tennessee Bank, N.A. (First Tennessee), an FHA direct endorsement lender. This review was conducted as part of our Operation Watchdog initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion of the FHA Commissioner. The Commissioner expressed concern regarding the increasing claim rates against the FHA insurance fund for…

HUD OIG reviewed the City of Chattanooga’s (City) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (program). We selected the City for review based on its low percentage of obligations and the approaching September 6, 2010, deadline for obligating funds. Our objective was to determine whether the City administered its program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules and regulations. The City generally administered its…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the State of Illinois’ (State) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (Program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2010 annual audit plan. We selected the State based upon citizens’ complaints to our office. Our objectives were to determine whether the State (1) had the capacity to effectively and efficiently administer its Program…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General reviewed 20 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans that 1st Advantage Mortgage, LLC (1st Advantage), underwrote as an FHA direct endorsement lender. Our review objective was to determine whether 1st Advantage underwrote the 20 loans in accordance with FHA requirements. This review was conducted as part of our Operation Watchdog initiative to review the…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the DuPage Housing Authority’s (Authority) Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program (program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority as part of our internal audit of HUD’s oversight of the program and based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing authorities in…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the City of East St. Louis, Illinois’ (City) Community Development Block Grant (Block Grant) program. Our objectives were to determine whether the City properly expended Block Grant funds for salaries and building expenses and followed proper procurement processes while awarding significant administration contracts. The City did not properly…

The Chattanooga Housing Authority (Authority) was awarded a $6.35 million capital fund formula grant and a $4.8 million capital fund competitive grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the Recovery Act, we conducted a capacity review of the Authority’s operations. The objective was to determine whether the Authority had the capacity to adequately…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Chicago Housing Authority’s (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (program) under its Moving to Work Demonstration program. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing agencies in Region V’s jurisdiction.…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the DuPage Housing Authority’s (Authority) Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program (program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based on our internal audit survey of HUD’s oversight of the program and our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing authorities in Region V’s…

The East St. Louis Housing Authority will receive $4.9 million in Recovery Act funding to carry out capital and management activities at its public housing developments. HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the Authority's capacity to administer its Recovery Act funds. The OIG found several weaknesses that could adversely affect its capacity to administer these funds and recommended that HUD require corrective action on…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector reviewed Cook County’s (County) Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The review was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the County based upon the results of our three previous audits of the County’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). Our objective was to determine whether the County had the capacity to effectively…