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 City of Chattanooga’s Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program.  We selected the City for review in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City administered its ESG program in accordance with HUD’s requirements. The City did not always administer its ESG program in accordance with HUD’s requirements.  Specifically, it did not ensure that program expenditures were…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General reviewed the allegations contained in a hotline complaint against the Washington County Department of Housing Services, Hillsboro, OR, to determine whether its application and related submissions to secure HUD grant OR0216L0E061500 were false or misleading or would otherwise cause the Clover Court project to be ineligible for Continuum of Care funding. We…

We audited Shelby County’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant.  We selected the County for review in accordance with our annual audit plan and because the County received more than $7.4 million in funding to recover from severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding that occurred in April 2011.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the County ensured that (1) funds were spent only…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (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 Franklin American Mortgage Company.  Franklin American has its principal place of business in Franklin, TN.  Franklin American became an FHA-approved direct endorsement lender in 1995.  As a direct…

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 reviewed the disbursement of project funds for seven of the Sections 202 and 811 supportive housing projects for the elderly and persons with disabilities managed by Taliafaro, Inc.  We initiated the audit under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General’s annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether Taliafaro used project funds appropriately and operated multifamily…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) assisted the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia, in conducting a review of First Tennessee has its principal place of business in Memphis, TN and is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Horizon Financial Corporation.  First Tennessee became an FHA-approved direct endorsement…

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…

Based on a referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Seattle Office of Labor Relations, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed a review of certain payrolls of the owner of Civic Construction, LLC, of Portland, OR.   The payrolls were subject to the Davis-Bacon Act. We completed the review and referred alleged violations to HUD’s Office of Program Enforcement for action under the Program Fraud…

We audited Peoples Home Equity, Inc.(Peoples), a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved nonsupervised direct endorsement lender located in Brentwood, TN.  We selected Peoples based on its high default rates.  The audit was part of our annual audit plan to review single family programs and lenders.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether Peoples complied with HUD requirements when it originated and underwrote FHA…

We audited the Memphis, TN, Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 audit plan.  We selected the Authority because it had a large program, receiving about $40 million in yearly funding, and was part of the OIG’s annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority’s inspection process adequately ensured that its units were in material compliance with…

We conducted a review of Home Forward (previously named the Housing Authority of Portland, OR) based on concerns noted during our ongoing internal audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of public housing authorities’ compliance with Federal lobbying disclosure requirements.  Our review objective was to determine whether Home Forward complied with Federal lobbying disclosure requirements and…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Northeast Oregon Housing Authority.  We selected the Authority because we received a hotline complaint expressing several concerns about the Authority’s procurement, asset disposal, payroll withholdings, maintenance charge rates, and tenant commissioner housing issues.  Our objective was to determine whether the allegations in hotline…

We audited the City of Memphis’ Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program-funded Housing and Rehabilitation Program (HARP) as part of the activities in our 2013 fiscal year annual audit plan and based on a referral from the Office of Inspector General’s Office of Investigation.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City used its CDBG and HOME funds for eligible activities and complied…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Home Forward’s Moving to Work Housing Choice Voucher program.  We selected Home Forward, formerly known as the Housing Authority of Portland, because it disbursed the highest average Section 8 funds in Oregon from 2010 to 2012 and third highest in the Region, including Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.  We focused on its tenant-based…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Volunteers of America’s (VOA) Whispering Pines Senior Village’s Green Retrofit program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Our objective was to determine whether VOA used its Whispering Pines Green Retrofit Recovery Act funds in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Recovery Act rules and…

We audited the Shelby County Housing Authority in Memphis, TN, based upon an audit request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General for Investigation. The request included many areas of concern for both public housing operations and Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program administration. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority complied with HUD requirements for administering its…

HUD OIG audited the City of Memphis’ administration of its Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) and Community Development Block Grant-Recovery (CDBG-R) funds received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We selected the City for audit because it received more than $3.3 million in HPRP funds and more than $2.1 million in CDBG-R funds, the most for any Tennessee city. The City had expended more than $1.5…