We completed a limited review concerning Sprint FONCARDS or calling cards. We conducted the review to ensure adequate controls were present. The objectives of our review were to determine the controls in place to identify waste, fraud or abuse regarding the FTS 2001 Sprint FONCARD. We determined that verification memorandums were not being sent to individuals to verify that calls were official and were made by the individual as required in…

We completed a limited review concerning college students living in Section 8 subsidized housing. We conducted the review in response to media and congressional attention and subsequent issuance of new regulations and policy guidance by HUD that restricted the eligibility of the students. The media had reported that taxpayer subsidized housing was being occupied by students to offset the high price of college. It also reported concerns by the…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report examining how HUD tracks elevated blood lead levels in children under six reported by multifamily properties receiving Section 8 project-based rental assistance.  The report found that the Office of Multifamily Housing (Multifamily) lacks policies, processes, and a tracking system to effectively…

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued its annual audit report assessing HUD’s efforts to estimate, test, and reduce improper payments under the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019. The audit found that for the eighth consecutive year, HUD was unable to estimate improper payments for its two largest rental assistance programs. Together, the…

CLEVELAND – Basheer Jones, 40, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been sentenced to 28 months in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese, after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud by using his role as a public official for personal financial gain by seeking to defraud multiple community stakeholders out of more than $200,000. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report examining how the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) evaluates fraud risk, designs antifraud controls, and responds to known fraud to prevent it in the future. The audit found that NYCHA has several antifraud measures in place but lacks a comprehensive strategy or framework for identifying and…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report examining the Boston Housing Authority’s (Authority) compliance with HUD and local requirements for maintaining Public Housing units in decent, safe, sanitary, conditions and in good repair.The audit found that the Authority’s units and buildings were not consistently maintained in accordance with HUD’s and the…

WASHINGTON DC— An Illinois man was sentenced today in federal court to seven months for his role in a scheme to defraud financial institutions in connection with over $800,000 in loans.Lamar Spells, 60, of Flossmoor, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger of the Northern District of Illinois, who also ordered Spells to pay $276,788 in restitution, joint and severally. In April 2023, Spells pleaded guilty to one count of an…

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 $200,000. He previously served as an elected Cleveland city council member representing Ward 7.According to court documents, from about December 2018…

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued its annual independent evaluation of the effectiveness of HUD’s information security (InfoSec) program and practices under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA).FISMA requires all Inspectors General (IG) to annually assess the effectiveness of their Federal agency’s InfoSec programs. The Office…

CINCINNATI – The former executive director of the Clermont Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to federal program theft.Timothy Holland, 57, of Williamsburg, Ohio, admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars intended to assist low-income residents of Clermont County, Ohio.According to court documents, Holland served from 2012 until 2019 as the executive director for CMHA, the United States…

HUD OIG found that the Authority did not always ensure that its HCV Program units met HUD’s housing quality standards and did not consistently stop payments to owners who failed to correct unit deficiencies. We also found the Authority did not comply with HUD’s monitoring and data collection requirements of the Lead Safe Housing Rule for cases of children with elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs).  

HUD OIG found that the Authority did not adequately manage lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in its public housing, including failing to perform timely lead‐based paint visual inspections in an estimated 4,762 units.  

The Justice Department announced today that Kevin Martin, an owner and manager of residential rental properties in and around Athens, Ohio, has agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed female tenants and housing applicants in violation of the Fair Housing Act.The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges that, from at least 2010 to at least 2020, Martin requested…

The review found the Puerto Rico Department of Housing budgeted most of its $1.93 billion disaster recovery funds for its two main electrical grid programs which were launched in 2023. Both programs are in their early implementation stages.  As of July 12, 2024, PRDOH had spent less than 1 percent of its total budget for both programs – only $179,761 of $1.93 billion.   

WASHINGTON DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report examining the City and County of Honolulu ’s Department of Budget and Fiscal Services’ and Department of Community Services’ (the City) practices for preventing, detecting, and responding to fraud in the administration of more than $25 million in HUD’s Emergency Solutions Grant Cares Act (ESG-CV) program…

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report examining the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) practices for preventing, detecting, and responding to fraud in the administration of over $319 million in pandemic funding through HUD’s Emergency Solutions Grant – CARES Act (ESG-CV) program.Congress appropriated $4 billion for ESG-CV grants to…