We audited the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority’s Non-Federal Match Program for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds.  This Match Program was developed to assist non-Federal entities in paying for their share of projects that addressed unmet needs because of the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria.  We initiated this audit due to the $415 million of CDBG-DR funds allocated by the Authority and to…

We audited the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority’s monitoring of its Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)-funded activities.  We initiated the audit because of the large amount of CDBG-DR funds awarded to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2017 disasters and to aid in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) strategic objective to support effectiveness and accountability in long-term disaster…

We audited the Housing Choice Voucher Program at the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority because it was rated high risk on our risk assessment and due to the size of the Authority’s program.  It averaged 3,508 vouchers and more than $2.4 million in housing assistance payments monthly.  In addition, we had not audited the Authority’s program in the last 10 years.  The audit objective was to determine whether the Authority…

We audited the Wausau Community Development Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher Program based on our analysis of risk factors related to the public housing agencies in Region 5’s jurisdiction (States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin).  The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2019 annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in…

We audited the Virgin Islands Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program’s housing quality standards as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2015 audit plan.  We selected the Authority because it had a large program receiving more than $14 million in 2014. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority’s inspection process adequately ensured that its units complied with housing quality standards. The…

We audited the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk analysis of the Authority’s program that considered the amount of funding and the results of HUD monitoring reviews and because the Office of Inspector General had not reviewed the Authority’s HOME program within the past 10 years.  Our audit objective was to determine whether Authority officials administered the HOME program in…

We audited the Brown County Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program based on our analysis of risk factors related to the public housing agencies in Region 5’s jurisdiction  and the activities included in our fiscal year 2015 annual audit plan.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority (1) appropriately calculated housing assistance payments and (2) maintained required eligibility documentation…

We audited Virgin Islands Community AIDS Resource & Education, Inc.’s (VICARE) Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program.  This audit was the result of a referral from the San Juan Office of Community Planning and Development.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether VICARE spent HOPWA funds in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements and for eligible…

We audited Community Advocates’ Supportive Housing Program and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program grants.  We selected Community Advocates based on a hotline complaint alleging misuse of Program grant funds.  Our objective was to determine whether Community Advocates properly administered its Program and Recovery Act grants in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review to determine whether a former Executive Director of the Superior, WI, Housing Authority, Debra Waterman, charged personal items to the housing authority credit card. We identified approximately $100,000 of unsupported or unallowable expenditures made by Ms. Waterman. The Superior Housing Authority filed a complaint against Ms.…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Commerce’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2011 annual audit plan. We selected the State for review based on a citizen’s complaint forwarded to our office from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s…

We audited New England Regional Mortgage Corporation (Corporation), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lender approved to underwrite and close mortgage loans without prior FHA review or approval. We selected the Corporation because its early payment default rate for insured single-family loans originated between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, was significantly higher than the default rate in the local area in which it does business…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee’s (Authority) nonprofit development activities. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority because it had high-risk indicators of nonprofit development activity. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority maintained complete…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee's (Authority) 5(h) and Section 32 homeownership programs (programs). We selected the Authority based on a risk analysis showing that it had high-risk program indicators. Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority properly accounted for and used its programs' proceeds in…

We completed our review of the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority's (Authority) cost allocation, operating reserves, and technology expenditures. We initiated this survey at the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Public Housing. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority properly allocated costs, maintained appropriate reserves, and managed its technology equipment and…

We audited Oneida Housing Authority (Authority) to determine whether the Authority calculated program income for NAHASDA-assisted 1937 Act properties in accordance with applicable U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidance, regulations, and requirements and to observe uses of revenue from NAHASDA-assisted 1937 Act properties. The Authority failed to track Block Grant rehabilitation or capital expenses for each property and…

St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Department of Education Director of Maintenance, Davidson Charlemagne, 50, and his wife Sasha Charlemagne, 44, both of St. Croix, were arrested after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging the pair with government program fraud, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. The indictment also charges former Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (“VIHFA”)…

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Duane Emery, 65, Webster, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to one year and one day in federal prison for wire fraud. Emery pleaded guilty to this charge on October 17, 2023.Between 2015 and 2019, Emery stole over $150,000 from the St. Croix Chippewa Housing Authority, an agency of the St. Croix…

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Karen Johnson, 55, Cumberland, Wisconsin was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to one year and one day in prison for wire fraud, to be followed by a three-year period of supervised release. Johnson pleaded guilty to this charge on September 1, 2023.Between 2014 and 2019, Johnson stole over $200,000 from the St.…