In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), we audited the Housing Authority of the City of Wichita Falls’ Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus (formula) Recovery Act-funded activities. Specifically, our objectives were to determine whether the Authority followed Recovery Act rules and regulations when obligating and expending its Recovery Act capital funds and…

We reviewed the City of Beaumont’s (City) Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (Program). Our objective was to determine whether the City ensured that its Program complied with Recovery Act and U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program expenditure and reporting requirements. The City should strengthen its controls over its Program to better comply with Recovery Act requirements. Specifically, it should…

In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), we audited the San Antonio Housing Authority’s (Authority) Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus Recovery Act-funded activities. We wanted to determine whether (1) the Authority obligated, expended, and reported on its Recovery Act funds within regulatory requirements and (2) its procurements were made in accordance with…

In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), we reviewed the City of Houston’s (City) Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (Homeless Program). Our objective was to determine whether the City ensured that its Homeless Program complied with Recovery Act and U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) laws, regulations, and requirements.…

We completed an audit of the operations of the City of Buffalo, NY (City), pertaining to its administration of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the City (1) administered its CDBG program effectively, efficiently, and economically in accordance with applicable rules and regulations, and (2) expended CDBG funds for eligible activities that met a national objective of the program…

We audited Westbeth Artists Houses (auditee) in response to a complaint submitted to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) hotline alleging that project funds were used to pay an executive director in violation of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. Our audit objectives were to assess the merits of the complaint and determine whether project operations generally complied with HUD regulations pertaining to…

We completed the fifteenth audit report in our ongoing review of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s (LMDC) administration of the $2.783 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Assistance funds provided to the State of New York in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. During the audit period, October 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010, LMDC…

We audited the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Supplemental II Disaster Recovery program funds, administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). Specifically, we wanted to determine whether TDHCA monitored its program management firm (the Firm) to ensure compliance with Federal and State regulations and to ensure costs reimbursed for the Housing…

In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), we audited the Housing Authority of the City of Port Arthur’s (Authority) Public Housing Capital Fund Stimulus (formula) Recovery Act Funded activities. We wanted to determine whether (1) Public Housing Capital Fund formula grant obligations made between January 30 and March 17, 2010, were appropriate, prudent, eligible…

We completed an audit of the operations of the City of Binghamton, NY (City), pertaining to its administration of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Section 108 Loan Guarantee program. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the City (1) administered its Section 108 loan program effectively, efficiently, and economically in accordance with applicable rules and regulations; (2) used Section 108 loan proceeds on eligible…

We performed an audit of WR Starkey Mortgage, LLP (WR Starkey), located in Plano, TX, a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) direct endorsement lender. We selected WR Starkey for audit because of its high default rate of nearly 4.5 percent as compared to the average default rate for all FHA loans in Fort Worth, TX, of 4.1 percent. Our objective was to determine whether WR Starkey complied with U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development…

As part of our annual audit plan objective of improving the integrity of single-family insurance programs, we reviewed the independent public accountant’s working papers and the financial statements of Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corporation (Allied) for fiscal year 2009. The objective of the review was to determine whether Allied’s fiscal year 2009 financial statements submitted to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) accurately reported…

The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed an audit of Gold Financial Services, Inc. (Gold Financial), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) direct endorsement lender and a branch of AmericaHomeKey, Inc., in San Antonio, TX. We selected Gold Financial for audit because its default rate was almost 10 percent for the audit period while the average default rate in the San Antonio area…

We conducted a review of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by Sterling National Mortgage Company, Inc. (Sterling), an FHA direct endorsement lender. The review was conducted as part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Operation Watchdog initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion of the FHA Commissioner. The Commissioner expressed concern regarding the increasing claim…

We completed a corrective action verification review of the audit recommendations for findings 1 and 2 of Audit Report Number 2006-NY-1005, issued February 21, 2006 pertaining to the general operations of the Utica Municipal Housing Authority, Utica, New York (Authority). The purpose of the corrective action verification was to determine whether the selected audit recommendations were implemented and the deficiencies cited in the report were…

We reviewed 20 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans Alethes, LLC (Alethes), underwrote as a FHA direct endorser. Our review objective was to determine whether Alethes underwrote the 20 loans in accordance with FHA requirements. This review was part of Operation Watchdog, an Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders, at the suggestion of the FHA Commissioner. The Commissioner…

As part of our strategic plan objective to assist the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) efforts to reduce rental assistance overpayments, we audited the Housing Authority of the City of Odessa’s (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (Voucher) and Section 8 New Construction (New Construction) programs. Based on review of the Authority’s financial statements, we also audited its transactions with one of its related…

We reviewed 19 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans Americare Investment Group (Americare) underwrote as an FHA direct endorsement lender. Our review objective was to determine whether Americare underwrote the 19 loans in accordance with FHA requirements. This review is part of Operation Watchdog, an Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion of the FHA…

We reviewed 20 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans that Alacrity Lending Company (Alacrity) underwrote as an FHA direct endorsement lender. Our review objective was to determine whether Alacrity underwrote the 20 loans in accordance with FHA requirements. This review is part of Operation Watchdog, an Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion of the FHA…