We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) process for awarding asset repositioning fees (ARF) to public housing agencies (PHA) with approved demolition and dispostion projects.  We initiated this review based upon issues disclosed during our review of Public Housing Capital Fund program grants to PHAs with approved demolition and dispostion projects.  The audit objective was to determine whether HUD had…

We assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky in the investigation of NDC Real Estate Management, Inc. (NDC).  The investigation began due to a qui tam filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.  The False Claims Act allows private persons to file suit for violations of the False Claims Act on behalf of the Government.  A suit filed by an individual on behalf of the…

We assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, in conducting an investigation of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase).  The investigation began due to a qui tam filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  The False Claims Act allows private persons to file suit for violations of the False Claims Act on behalf of the Government.  A suit filed by an…

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 Jackson Housing Commission’s Section 8 program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 annual audit plan.  We selected the Commission based on our analysis of the risk factors relating to public housing agencies in Region 5’s jurisdiction.  Our objective was to determine whether the Commission administered its program in accordance with HUD’s and its own program requirements. The Commission generally…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Meridian’s Queen City apartments at the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Single Family Office of Asset Management.  Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority acquired, financed, and managed the purchase of the apartments in accordance with applicable regulations and determine the cause of the Queen City apartments’ Federal Housing…

We audited the City of Richmond’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program 1 (NSP1) in response to HUD Office of Community Planning and Development’s concerns over the City’s management of its NSP1.  Our objective was to determine whether the City administered its NSP1 in accordance with requirements related to procurement and cost eligibility. The City did not administer its NSP1 in accordance with requirements related to procurement and cost…

We investigated allegations that the president of a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved lender violated loan origination requirements under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FHA insurance program.  The allegations were that although the loan application showed the lender’s president as the loan officer who originated the loan, it was actually originated by an employee of the lender, who was also the…

In accordance with our regional plan to review public housing programs and because of weaknesses identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), we reviewed the public housing programs of the South Landry Housing Authority, Grand Coteau, LA.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its HUD public housing programs in accordance with regulations and guidance. The Authority did not comply…

We audited HUD’s Office of Native American Programs’ (ONAP) Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) program grant closeout process based on data received from Southwest ONAP and additional analysis that raised concerns regarding ONAP’s oversight of the grant closeout process.  Our objective was to determine whether ONAP had adequate controls to ensure the timely closeout of program grants. HUD’s ONAP did not have adequate controls…

We performed an audit of the Boca Raton Housing Authority mainly to assess the validity of nine allegations made against the Authority.  The primary audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program tenant files in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s regulations, specifically to verify the validity of the complaint. Four of the nine…

We audited the Goshen Housing Authority’s Section 8 program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 annual audit plan.  We selected the Authority based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Indianapolis Office of Public and Indian Housing.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in accordance with HUD’s and its own requirements.  The…

In accordance with our regional plan to review public housing programs and because of weaknesses identified during a prior audit by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Inspector General (OIG), we reviewed the public housing programs of the Kenner Housing Authority in Kenner, LA.  Our overall objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its public housing programs in accordance with…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Wyoming Housing Opportunities Association (Association) based on information obtained during a separate audit of the Wyoming Community Development Authority (State Finance Agency), which indicated that 51 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages with the same borrower had defaulted.  The purpose of our audit was to determine whether…

We reviewed an alleged loan origination fraud scheme involving a borrower purchasing a home in which the loan was insured under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal Housing Administration (FHA) program.  The alleged scheme involved submitting a false loan application to obtain an FHA-insured loan on a home in Brentwood, CA.  Based in part on our review, HUD filed a complaint against the borrower under…

We audited HUD’s controls over its Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan indemnification recovery process based on the OIG’s analysis of HUD data that indicated indemnification losses were not always recovered for FHA single-family loans.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD had adequate controls in place to monitor indemnification agreements and recover losses on FHA single-family loans. HUD did not always bill lenders for FHA…

We audited the Municipality of Carolina’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program as part of our strategic plan, based on the amount of HOME funds approved.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether HOME-funded activities met program objectives, home buyers complied with HOME’s primary residency requirement for the duration of the period of affordability, and the Municipality maintained a financial management system in compliance…

In accordance with our regional plan to review public housing programs and as part of our overall risk strategy to review smaller housing authorities, we reviewed the Housing Authority of the City of Beeville, TX.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority operated its public housing and related grant programs in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements.  However, we limited…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport, CT, to address complaints and areas that came to our attention during a prior audit.  Our objective was determine whether costs charged to Federal housing programs were eligible, reasonable, and supported.  Specifically, we determined whether officials properly (1) charged development staff costs, (2) charged Section 8 consulting costs, (3) implemented flat rents, (4) loaned…

We audited the Adams Metropolitan Housing Authority’s public housing program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 annual audit plan.  We selected the Authority based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) management.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority used public housing program funds in accordance with HUD’s and its own requirements. The Authority generally used…