We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) real estate-owned (REO) Management and Marketing (M&M) III program at Innotion Enterprises, Inc., to determine whether Innotion performed property preservation and protection services according to contract requirements. The review was part of our efforts to improve the integrity of the single-family insurance programs. We selected Innotion’s Las Vegas, NV, branch based…

We audited the Women’s Development Center’s administration of its Supportive Housing Program (SHP) with concentration on the transitional housing grants provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Our review was initiated because of a referral from the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Office of Investigation due to concerns about the Center’s compliance with SHP requirements. Our overall objective was to…

We audited the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loan process at Universal American Mortgage Company (lender) to determine whether the lender complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, procedures, and instructions in the origination and quality control review of FHA-insured loans. The review was part of our efforts to improve the integrity of the single-family insurance programs. We selected…

We audited the City of Las Vegas Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) established by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). Our review of the City of Las Vegas (City) was in response to the Recovery Act, which mandates that OIG take the responsibility to oversee and audit programs and activities funded by the Recovery Act. The City received a grant of $2.1 million. Our objective was to…

We audited Semper Home Loans, Inc. (Semper), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lender approved to underwrite and close mortgage loans without prior FHA review or approval. We selected Semper because its early payment default rate was higher than the default rate in the local area in which it does business. Our audit objectives were to determine (1) whether Semper acted in a prudent manner and complied with U.S. Department of Housing and…

We completed a review of the Community Development Programs Center of Nevada’s (Center) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (program). We performed the review because of the OIG’s mandate to provide oversight of Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) programs. We selected the Center because it received more than $4.9 million in program funds from Clark County and the City of Henderson. In addition, the Center has an agreement with…

We completed a review of Clark County’s (grantee) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (Program). The grantee includes Clark County and the City of North Las Vegas. We performed the review because Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Act) reviews are part of the OIG’s audit plan, and the Program was identified as high risk. In addition, the grantee was awarded more than $29.6 million in Program funding. Our objectives were to determine…

We performed a limited review of the Washoe County HOME Consortium (Consortium) because it received an allocation of more than $4.6 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding as a subgrantee of the State of Nevada. Our objective was to determine whether the Consortium had sufficient capacity and had established adequate methodologies to implement the NSP requirements in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

We completed a review of First Source Financial USA (First Source), a former nonsupervised loan correspondent approved to originate FHA-insured loans. The objective was to determine whether First Source originated FHA loans and had a quality control plan that complied with HUD rules and regulations. We reviewed 20 loans amounting to more than $2.5 million that were in claim status. Our review disclosed that First Source: (1) allowed…

We audited the Housing Choice Voucher (Voucher) and public housing programs at the Woonsocket Housing Authority (Authority) as part of our annual audit plan. The overall objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority efficiently and effectively administered its Voucher and public housing programs in compliance with its annual contributions contracts and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. In…

LAS VEGAS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General hosted a roundtable yesterday for community members and organizations on Sexual Harassment in Housing.“Tenants should feel safe and not live in fear of sexual harassment, sexual assault or sexual exploitation by their landlord or other people who…

PROVIDENCE – A North Providence woman convicted of defrauding multiple publicly-funded programs was sentenced on Tuesday to eighteen months in federal prison for making false statements when applying for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage, a Small Business Association (SBA) loan, and for fraudulently applying for government-funded COVID unemployment benefits, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. In March 2022,…

PROVIDENCE – A North Providence woman today admitted in federal court that she provided false information to a mortgage lender when applying for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage, and that she fraudulently applied for a COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and unemployment insurance benefits under both the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act…

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A former regional director of community development for the National Community Stabilization Trust — formed in 2008 in response to the national mortgage-housing foreclosure crisis — was sentenced Tuesday to one year and one day in prison for conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. “The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) entrusts non-profit organizations to administer HUD…

PROVIDENCE – A former bookkeeper/office manager who admitted to embezzling more than $740,000 from a Rhode Island law firm that employed her, fraudulently collecting nearly $20,000 in temporary disability insurance payments, and filing fraudulent documents when applying for a mortgage from a Rhode Island bank, was sentenced today to five years in federal prison. According to court documents, Sarah Gaulin, 39, a former employee of the law firm…

PROVIDENCE – A Johnston-based real estate investment firm, the company’s founder, and a person who held himself out to be a negotiator on behalf of financially distressed homeowners but who was, in reality, associated with the real estate investment firm, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges they participated in a series of schemes to defraud homeowners and financial institutions. It is alleged in the indictment that members of…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The mastermind of a mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded financially distressed homeowners, investors, and financial institutions of nearly $1.5 million dollars was sentenced today to more than 13 years in federal prison. Hasan Hussain, 57, of Princeton, N.J., masterminded a scheme that defrauded distressed homeowners, investors, and financial institutions of fees, rental income, mortgage payment funds, property ownership and…