In accordance with our goal to review and ensure the proper administration of Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds provided under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) and/or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), we conducted a capacity review of the operations of the State of Maine’s (State) Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of Community Development (Department). The…

The U.S. Department of housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Authority of the City of Terre Haute, Indiana’s (Authority) Turnkey III Homeownership program (program). We selected the Authority for review based on the results of our audit of the Authority’s nonprofit development activities (see Office of Inspector General audit report #2009-CH-1011, issued on July 31, 2009). The audit was a part of…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Authority of the City of Terre Haute’s (Authority) nonprofit development activities. The review of public housing authorities’ development activities is set forth in our annual audit plan. We selected the Authority because it had high-risk indicators of nonprofit development activity. Our objective was to determine whether the…

We performed an audit of the Orchard Court project, a Section 236 multifamily property, located in Bath, Maine. As part of our audit, we reviewed subsidy payments made to Orchard Court from Bath and Brunswick, Maine, Housing Authorities (Authorities). Our objective was to determine whether Section 8 voucher program subsidies paid to Orchard Court from the Authorities were for basic rent, rather than market rent. Basic rent is the minimum rent a…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Indianapolis Housing Agency's (Agency) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2008 annual audit plan. We selected the Agency's program based upon our prior audits of the Agency's program and recent press coverage regarding conditions at two of the Agency's Section…

We audited the Orchard Court project, located in Bath, Maine, in response to a referral received by the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) Office of Investigation (Region 1). The referral indicated a potential inappropriate use of project funds by the Orchard Court Housing Corporation (project owner) and/or the management agent. Our overall objective was to determine whether the project owner and/or management agents operated the project…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Wayne's (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2007 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing agencies in Region V's jurisdiction. Our objective…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) audited the Indianapolis Housing Agency's (Agency) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2007 annual audit plan. We selected the Agency based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing agencies in Region V's jurisdiction. Our objective was to determine whether the Agency administered its…

The the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the City of Muncie's (City) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (Program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2007 annual audit plan. We selected the City based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to Program grantees in Region V's jurisdiction. Our objectives were to determine whether the City…

We audited the HOME Investment Partnerships program (HOME) administered by the Maine State Housing Authority, Augusta, Maine (Authority), as part of our annual audit plan. The Authority received more than $21 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding for its federal HOME program from 2005 to 2007. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its HOME program in compliance with HUD…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Authority of the City of Michigan City's (Authority) nonprofit development activities. The review of public housing authorities' development activities is set forth in our annual audit plan. We selected the Authority because it was identified as having high-risk indicators of nonprofit development activity. Our objective was to determine…

NEW ALBANY—Willie D. Watts, 42, of Clarksville, has been sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to theft of federal benefits from the Section 8 Housing Voucher, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, and Social Security programs.According to court documents, from 2014 to 2021, Ms. Watts received benefits from four different federal programs intended to benefit…

SOUTH BEND – Albert Smith, 47 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after being found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of federal program theft on November 1, 2023, following an eight-day jury trial, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.Smith was sentenced…

SOUTH BEND – Tonya Robinson, 61 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after being found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of federal program theft on November 1, 2023, following an eight-day jury trial, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.Robinson was…

Kelly Ballinger wrote her name on rent payments, altered renters’ incomes to steal fundsPORTLAND, Maine: A Glenburn woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to embezzling from an organization receiving federal funds and conspiring to alter money orders.According to court records, Kelly Ballinger, 57, was a former property manager for a Portland apartment complex with residences funded by the Department of Housing and Urban…

INDIANAPOLIS- The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) hosted a roundtable today, April 19th, 2024, for community organizations to discuss the problem of sexual harassment in housing.The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched the Sexual Harassment in…

SOUTH BEND –Douglas Donley, 42 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Jon E. DeGuilio, after being found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and one count of bank fraud on November 1, 2023, following an eight-day jury trial, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.Donley was sentenced to 27 months in prison, 2 years of supervised release, and…