We reviewed alleged violations of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan origination requirements by the subject. We concluded that the subject made false statements on a mortgage loan application for one property, and falsely acted as the seller of a second property on behalf of another person. The Department of Justice filed a complaint under the Financial Institutions Reform,…

We audited the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Public Housing Capital Fund formula and competitive grants. We performed the audit because Recovery Act reviews are part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) annual plan and the Los Angeles Office Public Housing’s 2011 risk assessment rated the Authority as high risk based on data from the Authority’s most recent Real Estate…

We audited the Tule River Indian Housing Authority in response to a complaint involving the Authority’s alleged misuse and improper procurement of $303,721 in Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Native American Housing Block Grant funding to be used for cabinet construction work on 38 of its housing units. Our overall objective was to determine whether the Authority followed procurement and contracting requirements and used its Recovery Act…

We audited the City of Compton’s (City) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) in response to a citizen complaint generally alleging misuse of HOME funds by the Community Redevelopment Agency (subrecipient) administering the program, including allegations stating that more than $4 million in HOME funds was missing and that program objectives were not met. Our audit objective was to determine the validity of the complaint allegations,…

We completed an audit of the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey’s (Authority) administration of more than $2.9 million in Capital Fund Recovery Grant funding as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority administered the procurement and contracting of its grant funds in accordance with HUD laws and regulations. The Authority did not administer the procurement and…

We conducted a review of the City of Dunkirk, NY (City), pertaining to its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). We selected this auditee based on a congressional interest inquiry received by the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board and forwarded to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General (…

We audited the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles’ American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Capital Fund formula grant. We performed the audit because Recovery Act reviews are part of the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) annual plan and because the Authority was the fourth highest overall recipient of Recovery Act capital funds in California. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered the…

We audited Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans underwritten by Prospect Mortgage, LLC (Prospect), within Region IV of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG). Our objective was to determine whether Prospect complied with HUD’s requirements for (1) origination and underwriting relative to cash assets, income, and creditworthiness; (2) quality controls; and (3) branch office…

We reviewed the books and records of Saint Timothy’s Tower (project), a 114-unit U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-insured (Section 236) Section 8 multifamily project consisting of 1 high-rise elevator building located in Compton, CA. We initiated the review in response to a request from the Departmental Enforcement Center due to its concerns about the owner’s use of project funds. Our objective was to determine whether…

We audited the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) of People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) and three of its subgrantees based on the results of a separate audit of the City of Los Angeles Housing Department (Department). HPRP is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), and auditing the Recovery Act program is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of…

We reviewed the hazard-damaged units that the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (Authority) is rehabilitating using formula grant American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) Public Housing Capital Fund program (program) funds. We selected the Authority based upon the results of our capacity review of the Authority’s Recovery Act program (see Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit report #2011-LA-1002, issued…

We completed an audit of the operations of the City of Buffalo, NY (City), pertaining to its administration of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the City (1) administered its CDBG program effectively, efficiently, and economically in accordance with applicable rules and regulations, and (2) expended CDBG funds for eligible activities that met a national objective of the program…

We audited the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) of Special Services for Groups (Special Services) based on the results of a separate audit of the City of Los Angeles Housing Department (Department). Special Services is a subrecipient of the Department’s HPRP. HPRP is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), and auditing Recovery Act programs is one of the U.S. Department of Housing…

We completed a review of the Hawthorne Housing Authority’s (Authority) Section 8 program. We performed the audit based on a recommendation from the Los Angeles U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Public Housing indicating missing and/or inadequate financial records, and because Section 8 reviews are a part of the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) annual audit plan. Our objective was to determine whether the…

We audited Westbeth Artists Houses (auditee) in response to a complaint submitted to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) hotline alleging that project funds were used to pay an executive director in violation of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations. Our audit objectives were to assess the merits of the complaint and determine whether project operations generally complied with HUD regulations pertaining to…

We audited Lutheran Social Services of Northern California (auditee) in response to a hotline complaint. The complaint alleged that the auditee misused Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) funds. The specific allegations included (1) ineligible purchases using employee credit cards, (2) unreasonable rental of storage units, (3) caseworkers qualifying family and friends for HPRP who were not eligible, (4) diversion of…

We completed the fifteenth audit report in our ongoing review of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s (LMDC) administration of the $2.783 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Assistance funds provided to the State of New York in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. During the audit period, October 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010, LMDC…

We audited the City and County of San Francisco (City) because its grant of more than $8.7 million was one of the largest Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) grants in the State of California. Our objective was to determine whether the City disbursed HPRP funding in accordance with program requirements. The City paid for HPRP services for ineligible participants and participants whose eligibility was not supported. It…