We completed a review of Provident Bank’s servicing of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages and its implementation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Loss Mitigation program. We selected Provident Bank based on an Office of Inspector General risk assessment of single-family lenders. The objective of the audit was to determine whether Provident Bank properly serviced FHA-insured mortgages and…

We audited the Virginia Housing Development Authority’s implementation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Loss Mitigation program for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).  We conducted the audit because the Authority had the largest active portfolio and the largest number of delinquent loans for servicers located in Virginia as of October 31, 2014.  Our objectives were to determine…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited LoanCare, LLC, Virginia Beach, VA regarding its post-foreclosure activities as a single family master subservicer for the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).  Our objective was to determine whether LoanCare conveyed foreclosed-upon properties held on behalf of Ginnie Mae, filed claims with FHA, and remitted the funds to Ginnie…

We audited the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s public housing program based on a request from the Office of Public Housing in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Richmond, VA, field office.  The request was made after media inquiries noted possible fraud, waste, or abuse at the Authority.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority complied with HUD procurement requirements.…

We audited the State of New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded Grants and Forgivable Loans to Small Businesses program.  We conducted the audit because the program was one of the largest funded economic revitalization programs in the State’s action plan and because the State had disbursed more than 37 percent of the funds allocated for the program as of September 2014.  Our objective was to determine…

We audited the State of New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded Sandy Integrated Recovery Operations and Management System.  We conducted the audit based on the significant amount of funds associated with the system and the importance of the system to the successful implementation of the State’s Disaster Recovery grant.  Our objective was to determine whether the State procured services and products for…

We audited the City of Paterson, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk analysis of the City’s program that considered the amount of funding, the risk score assigned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), our identification of potential issues, and Congress’ general interest in the HOME program.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether City officials had established and implemented…

HUD OIG assisted the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Colorado, in the civil investigation of MetLife Bank, N.A.  MetLife had its principal place of business in Convent Station, NJ.  MetLife became an approved direct endorsement lender under HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) program on April 5, 2007.  The direct endorsement program authorizes private-sector mortgage…

We audited the City of Passaic, NJ’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in support of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) goal of improving the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) execution of its fiscal responsibilities.  We selected the Authority based on a risk assessment of grantees administered by the HUD Newark, NJ, field office that considered grantee funding, HUD’s 2013 risk score, and prior…

We audited Prudential’s underwriting of a $49 million mortgage loan to develop the Preserve at Alafia, a multifamily project located in Riverview, FL.  We initiated the review based on the early default, assignment, and significant amount of the project.  Our objective was to determine whether Prudential underwrote and processed the loan for the Preserve of Alafia according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (…

We audited the City of Jersey City, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk assessment that considered the amount of funding, the risk score assigned to it by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and general congressional interest in the HOME program.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether City officials had established and implemented adequate controls to ensure that the HOME program…

We audited the State of New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded Homeowner Resettlement program.  We conducted the audit based on the substantial amount of funds the State allocated to the program.  Our objective was to determine whether the State used Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds for its Homeowner Resettlement program to assist eligible homeowners in accordance with applicable U.S. Department of…

We audited the State of New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded tourism marketing program.  We conducted the audit based on a congressional request to review the State’s Hurricane Sandy tourism marketing contract bidding process and the appropriateness of the content of its marketing campaign.  Our objectives were to determine whether the content of the marketing campaign was proper and whether the…

We audited the Cumberland Plateau Regional Housing Authority’s HOME Investment Partnerships program because a Russell County, VA, special grand jury investigation resulted in the indictment of four people involved with the Authority’s HOME program.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority procured services in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations and other applicable…

We audited Monmouth County, NJ’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based on a risk assessment that considered grantee funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk analysis, and prior Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit coverage. The objective of the audit was to determine whether County officials established and implemented adequate controls to provide assurance that CDBG funds were expended for…

We audited Middlesex County, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk analysis that considered funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk score, and prior Office of Inspector General audits.  The audit objective was to determine whether County officials established and implemented adequate controls over their HOME program to ensure that program funds were expended and administered for…

We audited the Hopewell Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s use of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher and public housing program funds.  We audited the Authority because we received a complaint alleging that the Authority (1) improperly calculated tenant rents and utility allowances, (2) improperly managed the program waiting list, (3) used credit cards for personal transactions, (4) made…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Paterson, Paterson, NJ’s Housing Choice Voucher program based on a risk assessment of authorities administered by the HUD Newark, NJ, field office that considered funding, HUD’s 2012 risk score, and prior OIG audits. The audit objectives were to determine whether Authority officials implemented adequate controls to ensure that the program was administered in accordance with HUD regulations and its…

We audited the City of Norfolk’s Community Development Block Grant program based on our annual audit plan and a risk analysis, which indicated that the City had the most open activities in Virginia.  Our objective was to determine whether the City justified its program activities by ensuring that they were properly supported by adequate documentation and met national objectives as required.  The City could not provide adequate…

We audited Essex County, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk assessment that considered grantee funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk analysis, and prior audit coverage.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether County officials established and implemented adequate controls to ensure that the HOME program was administered in compliance with program requirements. The…