The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General audited the Helena, MT Housing Authority in response to a hotline complaint alleging a former employee of the housing authority improperly released housing choice voucher holders’ personally identifiable information.  The objective of our review was to determine whether the allegation had merit. A former Authority employee did improperly release personally…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, reviewed the State of Montana’s Community Development Block Grant-Recovery (CDBG-R) program, based on HUD’s concern with the State directly loaning CDBG-R funds to entities and because of our focus on the administration of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. The objective of our review was to determine whether the State used its CDBG-R funds in…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General conducted a capacity review of the Ft. Belknap Indian Community (Ft. Belknap) to determine whether there was evidence that Ft. Belknap lacked the capacity to adequately administer its Recovery Act funding in accordance with requirements. Our review of the Authority was limited to gaining an understanding of internal controls over the administration of…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Fort Belknap Indian Community (Fort Belknap) because HUD’s Northern Plains Office of Native American Programs received information indicating financial irregularities in the administration of Indian Housing Block Grant (block grant) funds. The objective of the audit was to determine whether Fort Belknap administered its Federal funds in a manner…

We audited Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority (Authority) as part of our review of the Office of Native American Programs' guidance on calculating program income for the United States Housing Act of 1937 (1937 Act) housing projects assisted by the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA). The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority calculated program income for NAHASDA-assisted…

HELENA – A Helena real estate agent and property manager today admitted to failing to provide lead-based paint disclosures as required to veterans residing in housing at Fort Harrison, in Helena, which resulted in the exposure of veterans and their families to significant levels of lead, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.The defendant, Melanie Ann Carlin, 54, of Clancy, appeared for arraignment on and pleaded guilty to an information charging her…

HELENA — Mold Wranglers, Inc., a Kalispell-based company that provides hazardous material mitigation services, today admitted to filing false requests for payment to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs claiming an abatement of lead paint was done at Freedom’s Path Fort Harrison when it was not, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.The defendant, Mold Wranglers, Inc., appeared for arraignment on and pleaded guilty to an information charging one…

MISSOULA — The former executive director of the Whitefish Housing Authority today admitted to embezzling at least $100,000 from the organization, which receives federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.The defendant, Dwarne Lamont Hawkins, 46, pleaded guilty to theft from organization receiving federal funding. Hawkins faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and…