The Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority’s Administration of Its Non-Federal Match Program Had Weaknesses
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…
June 12, 2023
Report
#2023-FW-1002
Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority Ineffectively Monitored CDBG-DR Activities
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…
June 12, 2023
Report
#2023-FW-1003
The Virgin Islands Housing Authority, St. Thomas, VI, Did Not Adequately Enforce HUD’s Housing Quality Standards
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…
December 07, 2015
Report
#2016-AT-1001
Virgin Islands Community AIDS Resource & Education, Inc., Did Not Administer Its Program in Accordance With HUD Requirements
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…
July 02, 2015
Report
#2015-AT-1004
VIRGIN ISLANDS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CHARGED IN $4 MILLION DOLLAR HUD FRAUD SCHEME
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”)…
Press release
June 13, 2024
United States Inspector Generals Commit to Fighting Waste, Fraud and Abuse of Federal Funds in the Virgin Islands
St. Thomas, VI – Dozens of federal Inspector General officials gathered in St. Thomas on March 22-23, 2023, for the first Virgin Islands Office of Inspector General Spring Symposium. The federal oversight and law enforcement officials spent two days collaborating and sharing information as part of their ongoing commitment to protect federal funds awarded to the Virgin Islands.
“As a result of Hurricanes Irma and Maria and the COVID-19 pandemic…
Press release
March 29, 2023