We audited the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority’s public housing program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2016 annual audit plan.  We selected the Authority based on the results of a risk assessment of housing agencies in Region 5’s1  jurisdiction.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority complied with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and its own procurement requirements.…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted HUD’s Office of Program Enforcement in the civil investigation of American Midwest Mortgage Corporation.  American’s principal place of business is located in Cleveland, OH.  American became an FHA-approved direct endorsement lender on August 28, 1983.  The direct endorsement lender program authorizes private-sector mortgage…

We audited the Somerville Housing Authority’s public housing and Public Housing Capital Fund programs as part of our fiscal year 2016 regional audit plan.  We initiated our review because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Boston Office of Public and Indian Housing had not monitored the programs in the past 5 years and we had not audited the Authority in the past 10 years.  Our audit objectives were to…

We audited the Jefferson Metropolitan Housing Authority’s public housing program based on the activities included in our 2016 annual audit plan and a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority complied with (1) Federal and its own procurement requirements and (2) HUD’s requirements for the administration of its energy performance contract.  The…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California in the civil investigation of Iron Mountain, Incorporated, and Iron Mountain Information Management, LLC (Iron Mountain).  Iron Mountain is headquartered in Boston, MA.  The investigation began due to a qui tam[1] filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern…

We audited the Jefferson Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program housing quality standards based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the activities included in our 2015 annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority conducted thorough housing quality standards inspections of its program units in accordance with HUD’s and its own…

We conducted a limited review of the Cambridge Housing Authority’s Moving to Work Housing Choice Voucher Program’s use of exception payment standards.   This program allows public housing authorities to use exception payment standards to set rental payments in excess of the payment standard established for an authority’s rents . The review was initiated as a result of a concern raised by a member of Congress about whether public…

We audited the Jefferson Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the activities included in our 2015 annual audit plan.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority (1) appropriately calculated housing assistance payments, (2) maintained required eligibility documentation to support the admission and…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Meridian’s Queen City apartments at the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Single Family Office of Asset Management.  Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority acquired, financed, and managed the purchase of the apartments in accordance with applicable regulations and determine the cause of the Queen City apartments’ Federal Housing…

We investigated allegations that the president of a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved lender violated loan origination requirements under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FHA insurance program.  The allegations were that although the loan application showed the lender’s president as the loan officer who originated the loan, it was actually originated by an employee of the lender, who was also the…

We audited the Adams Metropolitan Housing Authority’s public housing program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 annual audit plan.  We selected the Authority based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) management.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority used public housing program funds in accordance with HUD’s and its own requirements. The Authority generally used…

We audited the Chelsea, MA, Housing Authority based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Boston Office of Public and Indian Housing, which was concerned about financial controls at the Authority.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether Authority officials properly implemented financial controls over the allocation of costs, and reasonableness of salaries. Authority officials did not design…

We investigated allegations that Thomas Bechtel, a real estate broker, violated U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) real estate-owned owner occupancy program requirements.  The Cincinnati HUD office referred the complaint to HUD OIG.  Our investigation revealed that a bidder, using Thomas Bechtel as his real estate broker, made a false statement when the bidder purchased a HUD-owned single-family home.  The…

We investigated allegations that Tracie Hoker, a real estate agent, violated U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) real estate-owned owner occupancy program requirements.  The Cincinnati HUD office referred the complaint to our office.  Our investigation revealed that a bidder, using Ms. Tracie Hoker as his real estate agent, made a false statement in 2012 to purchase a HUD-owned single-family home, by submitting a…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Boston Office of Public Housing as part of a nationwide audit of HUD’s oversight of environmental reviews.  We selected the Boston Office based on our risk assessment.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Boston Office’s oversight of public housing environmental reviews within its jurisdiction ensured that (1) the responsible entities performed the…

We investigated allegations that John Sherman violated U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) real estate-owned (REO) owner occupancy program requirements.  The Cincinnati HUD Office referred the complaint to our office.  Our investigation revealed that John Sherman failed to comply with the HUD REO program requirement that an individual who purchased a REO home during its initial offering period must be the owner-…

We audited the City of Toledo’s Community Development Block Grant funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2013 annual audit plan.  We selected the City’s Block Grant based upon recent media attention regarding the City’s programs, a request by the Honorable Marcy Kaptur, and a referral from the Office of Inspector General’s Office of Investigation.  Our objective was…

We completed a review of the Lowell Housing Authority’s Public Housing and Recovery Act Capital Fund programs, including its force account activities.  We selected this auditee based on a news articles identifying concerns with the Authority’s use of force account labor.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Authority (1) administered its force account modernization program in accordance with U.S. Department of…

We audited the Warren Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2013 annual audit plan.  We selected the Authority based on a citizen’s complaint to our office.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements. The Authority did not…

We audited the City of Worcester’s administration of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.  We selected the City for review based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Boston, MA, Office of Community Planning and Development.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the City established adequate controls to ensure that the CDBG activities were eligible and supported…