We reviewed the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH) Electrical Power System Enhancements and Improvements programs to provide (1) background and funding information, (2) an update on the status of the programs and their progress, and (3) other relevant program information for interested stakeholders including Congress and the public. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided its grantee, PRDOH, $1…

We audited the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority’s (PRHFA) Homebuyer Assistance Program (HBA), which provides eligible applicants with closing costs and downpayment assistance for the purchase of a primary residence.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided its grantee, the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (PRDOH), $495 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds for HBA…

We audited the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH) fraud risk management practices to assess the maturity of its antifraud efforts.  HUD heavily relies on its grantees to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse and PRDOH is HUD’s second largest Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery and Mitigation (CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT) grantee with over $20 billion in block grant funding.  Our objective was to assess…

We audited the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH) Home Repair, Reconstruction, or Relocation (R3) program.  We initiated this audit as part of our commitment to helping the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) support effectiveness and accountability in long-term disaster recovery.  Our objective was to determine whether PRDOH followed applicable program requirements when spending R3 program funds…

We audited the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (PRDOH) in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General’s (HUD OIG) goal to review disaster funding and based on a congressional request for HUD OIG to conduct capacity reviews for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria grantees.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the PRDOH had the capacity to (1) administer its Community…

We audited the Municipality of Yauco’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program as part of our strategic plan.  We selected this auditee because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classified the Municipality as a high-risk grantee in its 2017 risk assessment review.  Our objective was to determine whether the Municipality complied with HUD regulations, procedures, and instructions related to…

We audited the Yabucoa Volunteers of America Elderly Housing, Inc., Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program.  We selected the Yabucoa housing project for review based on concerns regarding the slow progress of the project as noted during the audit of the Puerto Rico Department of Housing multifamily special escrow funds.  The objective of this audit was to determine whether Volunteers used Section 202 funds in…

We audited the Municipality of San Juan’s Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program.  We selected the Municipality for review as part of our strategic plan based on the large amount of ESG funds approved and because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classified the Municipality as a high-risk grantee in its 2016 risk assessment.  Our main objective was to determine whether the Municipality administered…

We audited BLM Companies LLC, a contracted field service manager in HUD’s real estate-owned Management and Marketing III program, as part of the activities included in our 2017 annual audit plan and because it was the sole contractor performing property preservation and protection services for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-acquired properties located in Ohio.  Our audit objective was to determine whether…

We audited the Office of the Commissioner for Municipal Affairs’ (OCMA) Puerto Rico State Community Development Block Grant program.  We selected OCMA for review based on concerns regarding the slow progress of the Municipality of San Sebastian’s fine arts center.  The objective of this audit was to determine whether OCMA effectively used State Block Grant funds on a fine arts center that met a national objective of the…

We conducted an audit of BLM Companies LLC’s controls and performance under its Management and Marketing III program field service manager contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for area 1D.  Area 1D included HUD real estate-owned and custodial properties in New Mexico, North Texas, Utah, and Colorado.  During the audit period, BLM held 7 of 18 HUD field service manager contracts throughout…

We audited the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s multifamily special escrow funds.  This audit was the result of a referral from the San Juan Office of Multifamily Housing Programs.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Department administered and disbursed its escrow funds in accordance with its memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and whether…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Village North Apartments in Salt Lake City, Utah based on concerns that surfaced during another assignment when it appeared as though Village North might have moved tenants in and out of units and collected housing assistance payments for them without changing the social security numbers or birthdates for the new tenants.  The…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the University Village, LLC in Orem Utah based on previous violations identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that found ineligible withdrawals and substandard physical conditions at the property.  The objective of our audit was to determine whether University Village complied with its HUD multifamily…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated alleged violations of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) regulations by RANlife, Inc.  We reviewed the single-family FHA loan files processed by RANlife to determine whether it complied with HUD’s rules and regulations in originating, underwriting, and endorsing the loans for FHA insurance. On November, 23, 2015, RANlife…

Based on a request from the Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City, UT, we provided information about single-family lenders with high default rates. We then reviewed the available case binders for 38 loans for which the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) had paid claims that were underwritten by City First Mortgage Services, LLC. We completed the review and referred alleged violations to the U.S. Department of Housing…

We audited the Municipality of Bayamon’s Emergency Shelter Grants and Emergency Solutions Grants programs.  We selected this auditee based on congressional and hotline complaints alleging that the Municipality improperly used Emergency funds to transport people from Puerto Rico to mainland U.S. cities to receive rehabilitation treatment.  Our main audit objectives were to determine whether allegations included in the…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake Public Housing Capital Fund grants for fiscal years 2011-2014.  We initiated this audit due to the amount of funding the Authority received during our review period.  The Authority is the highest funded public housing agency in the State of Utah.  The objective of our audit was…

We audited the Municipality of Toa Alta’s Section 108 Loan Guarantee program.  This audit was the result of a referral from the San Juan Office of Community Planning and Development.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether program funds were effectively used to meet a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program national objective and provide the intended benefits and whether the Municipality complied with…

We audited the Office of the Commissioner for Municipal Affairs’ Section 108 Loan Guarantee program as part of our strategic plan and based on the deficiencies noted during our recent review of Municipal Affairs’ Section 108 Loan Guarantee program, concerning the slow progress of the Vieques Sports Complex project (Audit memorandum number 2014-AT-1801, issued March 20, 2014).  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether…