NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and race-based interference with housing and employment.According to court documents, David L. Merryman, 59, owned 39 rental properties in Newport News and 23 more in Hampton. Read More

December 17, 2024, letter from Inspector General Oliver Davis transmitting the evaluation report,  “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Nondisclosure Agreements’ Incorporation of Whistleblower Protections” to Senator Grassley.  We commenced this evaluation based on the Read More

In the Third Trial Following a 70-Person Takedown in February 2024, Corey Gilmore, a Former New York City Housing Authority Superintendent, was Convicted of Bribery and Extortion for Accepting Cash from NYCHA Contractors in Exchange for Awarding ContractsDamian Williams, the United States Attorney Read More

We obtained the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) two nondisclosure policies and two nondisclosure forms applicable to HUD employees.  We also obtained 13 nondisclosure agreements between HUD and HUD employees.  The nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements did Read More

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted penetration testing concurrently with our fiscal year 2024 Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) evaluation. The objective of the penetration testing evaluation was to Read More

Defendants Admit Violations and Agree to Pay $6.5 Million in Penalties and Restitution and to Undertake Broad Remediation of Their Housing PortfolioDamian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Lisa F. Garcia, the Regional Administrator for Region 2 of the U.S Read More

HUD OIG is conducting an audit of Ginnie Mae's portfolio and issuer oversight. According to a Ginnie Mae report issued in December 2024 , 88.97% of Ginnie Mae's approximately $2.6 trillion in guaranteed pooled loans are owned by 30 mortgage companies, of which 22 of them are nonbank institutions. Read More

The OIG evaluated the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) progress in applying zero trust security principles to protect personally identifiable information (PII).  HUD maintained a significant number of records that contain PII with limited zero trust controls in place Read More

Update selection rules for CAIVRS to provide for complete reporting of all ineligible borrowers to put $9.5 million to better use. Status In 2020, HUD suspended reporting delinquencies and defaults to the Credit Alert Verification Reporting System (CAIVRS) because these debts are Read More

Issue guidance to PHAs clarifying the timing of unit inspections and lead-based paint visual assessments to address the misinterpretation caused by the terms “annual” and “every 12 months.”

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations of Community Planning and Development enhance CPDs existing Grant Accrual Standard Operating Procedures to strengthen governance within CPD and to effectively work within the framework established by the OCFO in recommendation 1A. Read More

We recommend that the Chief Financial Officer enhance existing policies to establish a formal grant accrual risk management framework to help ensure consistent standards across HUD with regard to the development, review, and execution of the grant accrual and validation. This framework should Read More

PLANO, Texas – Three Texas women have been charged with federal violations related to a mortgage fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.Nicole Espinosa, also known as Short Sale Queen, 35, of Plano; Stephanie Smith, also known as Stephanie Parks, 44 Read More

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Joseph E. Johnson, also known as Joe Johnson, the owner and operator of rental properties in Lexington, Kentucky, for engaging in sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of the Fair Housing Act.“For decades, this Read More

We audited the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Office of Asset Sales’ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)‐Held Vacant Loan Sales (HVLS) program. The audit objective was to assess the extent to which HUD tracks and measures its loan sales’ program success and its Read More

SAN FRANCISCO – Tjoman Buditaslim, Jose De Jesus Martinez, and Jose Alfonso Tellez were sentenced today to 24 months, 14 months, and 12 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in a mortgage fraud conspiracy.  The sentences were handed down by the Honorable Charles R. Breyer, Read More

CLEVELAND – Basheer Jones, 40, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been charged in a two-count information with conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud for using his role as a public official for personal financial gain by seeking to defraud multiple community stakeholders out of more than $ Read More

In the Second Trial Following a 70-Person Takedown in February 2024, Hector Colon, a Former New York City Housing Authority Superintendent, Was Convicted of Bribery and Extortion for Accepting Cash From NYCHA Contractors in Exchange for Awarding ContractsDamian Williams, the United States Attorney Read More

HUD OIG is auditing HUD's efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing. To increase the affordable housing supply, HUD's Office of Single Family expanded the exclusive listing period to 30 days to increase the time owner-occupants, HUD-approved nonprofits, and governmental entities can Read More

Real Estate Company Owner Conspired to Purchase Brooklyn Real Estate at Fraudulently Depressed Short Sale Prices, Costing Mortgage Loan Holders Millions of DollarsA federal jury in  Brooklyn returned a guilty verdict  yesterday against Avraham Tarshish for conspiracy to commit Read More