The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the State of Iowa’s (State) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Assistance Funds. Our audit objective was to determine whether the State ensured that the City of Cedar Rapids provided disaster assistance funds to only eligible businesses and that these businesses did not receive duplicate Federal benefits. The State misspent more than $10.5…

We completed an inspection of the State of Louisiana’s (State) Road Home Elevation Incentive (elevation grant) program funded by HUD Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery funds.  We wanted to know whether homeowners used the funds to elevate their homes as set forth in their grant agreements.  Our inspection covered 199 (about 10 percent) of the 1,906 property owners who received more than $44.4 million in elevation…

We performed an audit of the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development (State), Recovery Workforce Training Program (Program) administered by the State’s subrecipient, Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC). We initiated the audit as part of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region’s audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the Federal Government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our audit…

As part of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General's obligation to ensure accountability and transparency in use of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds, we performed a review to assess the Housing Authority of New Orleans' (Authority) capacity to administer $34.5 million in ARRA funding. Our objective was to evaluate the Authority's capacity and risks in the following areas:…

We audited the Louisiana Land Trust (LLT), a $29 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery subrecipient of the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development (State). We initiated the audit as part of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region’s audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the federal government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our audit objective was to…

Due to a citizen's complaint, we audited the State of Louisiana's (State) Road Home homeowner assistance program managed by the State's contractor, ICF Emergency Management Services, LLC. The complaint raised a potential issue with Road Home employees improperly obtaining grants. During our audit on employee eligibility for additional compensation grants, we identified possible program eligibility issues through a review of the…

Due to a citizen's complaint, we audited the State of Louisiana's (State) Road Home homeowner assistance program managed by the State's contractor, ICF Emergency Management Services, LLC. The complaint raised a potential issue with Road Home employees improperly obtaining grants. During our audit on employee eligibility for additional compensation grants, we identified possible program eligibility issues through a review of the…

At the request of two United States senators, we initiated an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) administration of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (Authority) to determine the effect of HUD's receivership on the Authority's performance. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether HUD had taken action to improve the Authority's post-Hurricane Katrina performance while under HUD…

At the request of two United States senators, we initiated an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) administration of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (Authority) to determine the effect of HUD's receivership on the Authority's performance in its contracting activities and financial functions. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether HUD's receivership ensured that the Authority…

We completed an inspection of HUD funds drawn from the Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS) to pay for construction at Savoy Place, the last phase of the Desire Development at The Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO).  The Desire Development is a three-phase HOPE VI development, comprising of Abundance, Treasure, and Savoy Place.   We compared progress payments HANO made to the developer, Michaels Development Company, with…

We audited the State of Louisiana's (State) additional compensation grant (grant) component of the Road Home homeowner assistance program, managed by the State's contractor, ICF Emergency Management Services, LLC (ICF), in conjunction with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region's audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the federal government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our…

As part of the Office of Inspector General's strategic plan, we audited the Shreveport Housing Authority's (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8 program). Our objective was to determine whether the Authority ensured that it made housing assistance payments in accordance with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Section 8 program requirements. The Authority's contracted…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Choice Voucher program of the Des Moines Municipal Housing Agency (Agency) to determine whether the Agency (1) properly considered family composition and reasonable accommodation requests when applying payment standards and (2) took appropriate action when the tenants' files had indications of unreported income. We found that…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program (KDHAP) and Disaster Voucher Program (DVP) administered by various public housing agencies. Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD established controls to ensure that the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) pre-Hurricane Katrina Housing Choice Voucher program participants did not receive duplicate assistance…

We audited the State of Louisiana's (State) additional compensation grant (grant) component of the Road Home homeowner assistance program, managed by the State's contractor, ICF Emergency Management Services, LLC (ICF). We initiated the audit in conjunction with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region's audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the federal government in the aftermath of Hurricanes…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General audited the State of Louisiana's (State) Road Home program (Road Home) housing manager's performance under a contract worth more than $750 million. The State is a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery grantee under the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2006. We initiated the audit in conjunction with the Office of…

We audited the Shreveport Housing Authority's (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program as part of our strategic plan. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority's Section 8 units met housing quality standards and if not, determine the extent, cause, and impact of its noncompliance on its Section 8 program. The Authority did not have adequate management controls to ensure that it complied with U. S.…

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Kurt Williams and Gearhead Properties LC, of Davenport, Iowa, for sexually harassing female tenants in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Williams has managed residential rental properties in Davenport since at least 2010.The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, alleges that, since at least 2010, Williams subjected female…