Allen Mortgage, LLC, Centennial Park, AZ, Did Not Comply With HUD Requirements for Underwriting FHA Loans and Fully Implement Its Quality Control Program in Accordance With HUD’s Requirements
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited Allen Mortgage, Limited Liability Company, a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) nonsupervised lender. We selected Allen Mortgage for audit based on its high default and claim rate for the FHA-insured loans sponsored in Region 5. Our objectives were to determine whether (1) Allen Mortgage complied with HUD’s regulations, procedures, and instructions in…
September 30, 2012
Report
#2012-CH-1015
SAR 68 - Semiannual Report to Congress for period ending September 30, 2012
The Inspector General Act of 1978 requires the Inspector General to prepare semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office of Inspector General for the preceding six month periods. The semiannual reports are intended to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the Agency has made and recommendations for improvement.
September 30, 2012
Semiannual report
#SAR 68
Mortgage Now, Inc., Shrewsbury, NJ, Did Not Always Comply With HUD's Underwriting and Quality Control Requirements
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Mortgage Now Inc., a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved nonsupervised direct endorsement lender approved to originate, underwrite, and submit mortgages for insurance. We selected Mortgage Now based on its compare ratio of 223 percent for a 2-year FHA performance period. Its average compare ratio for the loans originated in our…
September 28, 2012
Report
#2012-CH-1014
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Real Estate Assessment Center Did Not Always Ensure That Independent Public Accountants Followed Statement on Auditing Standards 99 Requirements
The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) to determine whether it ensured that independent auditors followed Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) 99 audit requirements.
REAC did not always ensure that independent auditors followed SAS 99 requirements. It did not identify deficiencies in 10 of the 11 deficient engagements we reviewed. For the one…
September 28, 2012
Report
#2012-KC-0005
HUD’s Office of Native American Programs Did Not Provide Adequate Oversight To Ensure Grantee Compliance With Annual Audit Report Submission Requirements
We completed a review of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Native American Programs’ (ONAP) annual audit reporting process primarily in response to complaints that ONAP did not take appropriate enforcement action for two grantees that failed to submit required annual audits. Our objective was to determine whether ONAP provided adequate oversight of its grantees nationwide to ensure grantee compliance with…
September 28, 2012
Report
#2012-LA-0005
A Summary of the Foreclosure and Claims Process Reviews for Five Mortgage Servicers That Engaged in Improper Foreclosure Practices
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) completed its nationwide effort to review the foreclosure practices of the five largest Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage servicers (Ally Financial, Incorporated, Bank of America, CitiMortgage, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo Bank). We performed these reviews due to reported allegations made in the fall of 2010 that national mortgage…
September 28, 2012
Memorandum
#2012-CH-1803
Village of Spring Valley, NY, Hotline Complaint, Federal Housing Finance Agency Complaint Number Z-12-0445-1
We completed a review of the Village of Spring Valley, NY, a subrecipient of Rockland County, NY. We selected this auditee based on a hotline complaint that was referred from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) OIG, Complaint Number Z-12-0445-1, received on February 14, 2012. The complaint alleged that the Village (1) used eminent domain and Federal funds to seize property, (2) transferred ownership of properties to a developer to be…
September 28, 2012
Memorandum
#2012-NY-1802
HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development Needs To Improve Its Tracking of HOME Investment Partnerships Program Technical Assistance Activities
We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) technical assistance for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. The review was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2012 annual audit plan. We initiated the review based upon a congressional request. Our objective was to determine whether HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development sufficiently tracked Program technical assistance activities, including…
September 28, 2012
Memorandum
#2012-CH-0801
Housing Choice Voucher Program Units Did Not Meet HUD's Housing Quality Standards, and Authority Officials Did Not Always Comply with HUD's or Their Own Procurement Policy
We audited the Maine State Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program pertaining to its housing quality standard inspections, and other expenditures and procurements using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds. Our review was initiated based on a congressional request from Senator Susan Collins. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether (1) the Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program…
September 28, 2012
Report
#2012-BO-1005
The Flint Housing Commission, Flint, MI, Did Not Always Administer Its Grants in Accordance With Recovery Act, HUD's, and Its Own Requirements
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited the Flint Housing Commission’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Public Housing Capital Fund competitive grants. We selected the Commission based upon our analysis of risk factors relating to the housing agencies in Region 5’s jurisdiction. Our objective was to determine whether the Commission administered its grants in accordance with…
September 27, 2012
Report
#2012-CH-0013
The Saginaw Housing Commission, Saginaw, MI, Did Not Always Administer Its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program in Accordance With HUD’s and Its Own Requirements
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audited the Saginaw Housing Commission’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2012 annual audit plan. We selected the Commission based upon our previous audits of its use of Federal funds and a request from HUD management to perform a comprehensive review of its programs. Our objective…
September 27, 2012
Report
#2012-CH-1012
The Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority, Canton, OH, Did Not Always Administer Its Grant in Accordance With Recovery Act, HUD’s, and Its Own Requirements
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audited the Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Public Housing Capital Fund stimulus formula grant as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2012 annual audit plan. We selected the Authority based upon risk factors related to the housing agencies in Region 5’s Region 5 includes the States of Illinois,…
September 27, 2012
Report
#2012-CH-1011
The City of St. Louis, MO, Did Not Effectively Manage Its Recovery Act Funding
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD), Office of Inspector General reviewed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-R) Program of the City of St. Louis, MO. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the City complied with applicable Recovery Act requirements for CDBG-R funds and properly reported its Recovery Act activities. We found that the City did not comply with…
September 27, 2012
Report
#2012-KC-1006
A Hotline Complaint About Utah Housing Corporation, West Valley City, UT,
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, audited the Utah Housing Corporation in response to a hotline complaint. The complaint contained allegations that the Corporation commingled funds from the FHA first mortgages and the downpayment assistance second mortgages and serviced the second mortgages before the FHA first mortgages by using the first mortgage payments to pay the second mortgage. The…
September 27, 2012
Report
#2012-DE-1005
Shea Mortgage, Inc., Aliso Viejo, CA, Allowed the Recording of Prohibited Restrictive Covenants
We conducted a limited review of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by Shea Mortgage, Inc. We selected the lender based on the results of an auditability survey, which determined that Shea Mortgage allowed prohibited restrictive covenants to be filed against FHA-insured properties. The objective of our review was to determine the extent to which Shea Mortgage failed to prevent the recording of prohibited restrictive…
September 26, 2012
Memorandum
#2012-LA-1801
Final Civil Action - CitiMortgage, Inc., Settled Allegations of Failing To Fully Comply With HUD-FHA Requirements and Submitting False Certifications to HUD on FHA Loans
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, in conducting a review of CitiMortgage, Inc. CitiMortgage is a direct subsidiary of Citibank, N.A., and Citibank is an indirect subsidiary of Citigroup. CitiMortgage is based in O’Fallon, MO. The review began due to a qui tam filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern…
September 25, 2012
Memorandum
#2012-CF-1814
Final Civil Action - Default Judgment Issued Against Section 8 Landlord for Fraudulently Claiming Housing Assistance Payments
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), conducted a review of Section 8 housing assistance payments made to Lynn Leggins, a landlord, for a tenant with whom he lived. The objective of our review was to determine whether Mr. Leggins received housing assistance payments that he was not eligible to receive.
HUD’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program provides rental subsidies through tenant…
September 24, 2012
Memorandum
#2012-CF-1812
Final Civil Action - Settlement of Alleged Violations of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a civil fraud review of an alleged foreclosure rescue scheme operated by Terrill L. Meisinger of Seal Beach, CA. The alleged scheme involved more than 100 properties in three States that were financed through Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and conventional loans and allegedly defrauded distressed homeowners, renters, and lenders. Based on…
September 24, 2012
Memorandum
#2012-CF-1813
The Allegheny County Housing Authority, Pittsburgh, PA, Needs To Improve Its Inspections To Ensure That All Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Units Meet Housing Quality Standards
We audited the Allegheny County Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program because (1) the Authority received more than $27.3 million in Housing Choice Voucher funding in fiscal year 2011, (2) an article in the October 22, 2011, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described housing quality standards problems with a housing unit participating in the Authority’s program, and (3) we had never audited the Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program. The…
September 21, 2012
Report
#2012-PH-1012
HUD Did Not Ensure Public Housing Agencies' Use of Property Insurance Recoveries Met Program Requirements
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audited HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund program and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) Capital Fund program monitoring procedures because it was included in our annual audit plan and was prompted by a prior external audit (OIG audit report 2011-LA-1802, issued May 5, 2011). Our objective was to determine whether HUD’s Capital…
September 21, 2012
Report
#2012-LA-0004