An independent public accountant performed audits of the Willow Run (FHA no. 092-44100) and Willow Run II (FHA no. 092-35650) multifamily properties for the years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 under the name of The Blackwing Group, LLC.  According to the Minnesota Board of Accountancy, neither the independent public accountant nor The Blackwing Group, LLC, had ever been licensed to perform public accounting engagements in the State of...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota in a civil investigation of Willow Run Partners L.P. and Willow Run II Partners L.P.  Willow Run Partners L.P. was the owner of Willow Run I Apartments, and Willow Run II Partners L.P. was the owner of Willow Run II Apartments.  Our investigation began as a result of a...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Solace LLC’s Section 8 housing assistance payments program because of the results of our previous audit of another multifamily property.  The person responsible for housing assistance program issues at the other property was also Solace’s manager.  Our objectives were to determine whether Solace correctly computed tenant annual income,...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Reflection5 LLC’s Section 8 housing assistance payments program because of the results of a previous audit of another multifamily property.  The person responsible for housing assistance program issues at the other property was also involved with the housing assistance program at Reflection5.  Our objectives were to determine whether...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Sunset Manor Apartments to evaluate the allegations in a complaint and determine whether the project’s owner made unauthorized distributions and repayment of advances, maintained complete, accurate, and current books and records for the project, and participated in improper procurement practices.         ...

We audited the public housing program of the Housing Authority of the City of Spartanburg, SC, because of a citizen’s complaint.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority’s performance in the areas of financial operations, procurement, and inventory practices met HUD requirements. The Authority used HUD program funds for ineligible or unsupported expenses, and failed to maintain an accurate accounting and financial control...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Columbia, SC Office of Public Housing as part of a nationwide audit of HUD’s oversight of environmental reviews.  We selected the Columbia Office based on our risk assessment.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Columbia Office ensured that it performed the required reviews and did not release funds until all requirements were met and required...

We audited the State of Iowa’s monitoring of the City of Cedar Rapids’ voluntary property acquisition program.   We selected the State for review based on a prior audit of the City’s voluntary property acquisition program.  During fiscal years 2009 through 2012, the State awarded the City more than $166 million in disaster funding.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the State monitored the City’s voluntary...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Office of Inspector General audited the Idaho Housing and Finance Association’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program because it received approximately $6 million in HOME grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010. The objective of our review was to determine whether Idaho Housing complied with HOME match fund and...

As part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) nationwide effort to review the foreclosure practices of the five largest Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage servicers (Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, CitiMortgage, JP Morgan Chase, and Ally Financial, Incorporated) we reviewed Wells Fargo’s foreclosure and claims processes. In addition to this memorandum, OIG issued separate memorandums for each of the other four reviews. OIG...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Office of Inspector General audited the Idaho Housing and Finance Association’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program because HUD had not performed a comprehensive monitoring review of Idaho Housing’s program since 2007 and it received approximately $6 million in HOME grants from HUD in each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010. The objective of our review was to determine whether...

We performed a limited review of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Wells Fargo) as a result of our internal audit of the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). During the audit, we visited Wells Fargo and reviewed a limited number of loans to determine whether the National Servicing Center implemented and operated FHA-HAMP in accordance with rules and regulations. Our objective for this limited review was...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Public Housing Agency of the City of Saint Paul’s (Agency) Section 8 Project-Based Voucher program (program). The audit was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2009 annual audit plan. We selected the Agency’s program based upon our internal audit survey of HUD’s oversight of the program and our analysis of risk factors relating to the...