HUD OIG performed a corrective action verification of the audit recommendations cited in the audit report, Miami-Dade Housing Agency (Agency) Did Not Ensure Section 8-Assisted Units Met Housing Quality Standards (2006-AT-1001) issued December 21, 2005. The purpose of the corrective action verification was to determine if the selected audit recommendations were implemented and the deficiencies reported in the audit report corrected. The Agency…

HUD OIG audited the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program administered by the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida (City). The objective of the audit was to determine whether the City administered its CDBG program in accordance with applicable U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The City did not administer its CDBG program in accordance with applicable HUD requirements. It did not provide supporting…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority's (Authority) 5(h) homeownership program (program). We selected the Authority based on a risk analysis showing that it may have improperly used program funds. Our objectives were to determine whether the Authority properly accounted for and used its program's proceeds in accordance with…

HUD OIG audited the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program administered by the City of West Palm Beach, Florida (City). The objective of the audit was to determine whether the City administered its CDBG program in accordance with applicable U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The City failed to properly administer its CDBG program in accordance with HUD requirements. Specifically, the City was deficient…

We reviewed the City of Jacksonville/County of Duval, Florida's (City) Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG). We conducted the review as part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Inspector General's annual audit plan. Our objectives were to determine whether the City complied with CDBG regulations and requirements related to (a) use of competition when purchasing goods and services, (b…

We audited the Cathedral Foundation of Jacksonville, Inc. (Foundation), concerning its involvement as owner and/or manager of four elderly multifamily housing projects (projects) located in Jacksonville, Florida. We conducted the audit based on a request from the Jacksonville Multifamily Housing Hub, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Jacksonville, Florida. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Foundation operated…

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Carlos Calderon (56, Clermont) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Calderon faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.According to the plea agreement and court proceedings, Calderon and others conspired to create and execute a mortgage fraud scheme targeting financial institutions. To ensure that…

Orlando, FL – United States District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Maria Del Carmen Montes (48, Kissimmee) to 33 months in federal prison for bank fraud. Montes pleaded guilty on January 4, 2024. According to court documents, Montes, co-conspirator Carlos Ferrer, and others created and executed a mortgage fraud scheme targeting financial institutions. Montes assisted clients with purchasing homes and, after signing the real…

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 imprisonment…

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 to…

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…

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…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man who estimated he filed more than 3,000 fraudulent COVID-relief applications was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 72 months in prison.The fraud scheme perpetuated by Ousmane Diane, 24, caused a loss of more than $908,000. He submitted applications for more than $2 million in funding.Diane pleaded guilty in October 2023 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.According to court documents, Diane used the…

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati tenant pleaded guilty in federal court today to making false statements accusing her landlord of violating the Fair Housing Act.Dermisha Pickett, 33, fabricated messages from her landlord stating the landlord did not want Black tenants.According to court documents, in February 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was forwarded several text messages purportedly sent by the Cincinnati-area landlord as part of a civil rights…

Orlando, FL –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Maria Del Carmen Montes (46, Kissimmee) has pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud. Each bank fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. Montes was indicted, along with coconspirator Carlos Ferrer, on July 20, 2022.According to the plea agreement, Montes, coconspirator Ferrer, and others created and executed a mortgage fraud scheme targeting…