The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General audited Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, LLC’s underwriting of the loan to fund the renovation of the Temtor project in St. Louis, MO.  We initiated this audit because the project failed quickly after completion, resulting in a large loss to the Federal Housing Administration insurance fund.  Our audit objective was to determine whether Berkadia properly…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of its Section 203(k) Rehabilitation Loan Mortgage Insurance program as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2014 annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD had adequate oversight of its Section 203(k) program. HUD needs to improve its monitoring of lenders for compliance with the Section 203(k) program requirements because…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of enhanced vouchers provided under its Housing Choice Voucher program based on our annual audit plan.  We focused on vouchers administered by three New York agencies because the related subsidies represented 59 percent of the total monthly housing subsidies associated with enhanced vouchers nationwide.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD had…

We audited the State of Florida’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program because the State was awarded more than $107 million to recover from the 2008 natural disasters and to undertake activities and long-term strategies that focus on reducing future natural disasters.  Further, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, had not audited the State since 2006.…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) public housing program.  We conducted the audit as part of our annual audit plan and a congressional request.  Specifically, Congressman David P. Roe requested that we review the number of families residing in government-subsidized housing whose income exceeded current income limits.  Our audit objective was to determine the extent to which HUD-subsidized…

We audited the State of New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery-funded Grants and Forgivable Loans to Small Businesses program.  We conducted the audit because the program was one of the largest funded economic revitalization programs in the State’s action plan and because the State had disbursed more than 37 percent of the funds allocated for the program as of September 2014.  Our objective was to determine…

We audited the City of High Point’s lead-based paint procurement and eligibility operations.  We selected the Authority based on concerns from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City administered its lead-based paint hazard control grants in accordance with HUD’s regulations and grant requirements for…

We audited NOVA Financial & Investment Corporation based on a referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Quality Assurance Division detailing a separate lender that originated Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans that contained ineligible downpayment assistance gifts.  The HUD Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) analysis identified NOVA as a lender with the highest origination volume in the…

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) administration of its purchase card program in accordance with the Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012.  Our 2013 risk assessment review identified HUD’s purchase card program at medium to high risk for fraud or misuse, and our review of HUD’s Semiannual Purchase Card Violation Report (audit memorandum number 2014-FO-0801) raised concerns regarding…

We audited the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee program based on the U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) research, analysis, and information provided by the Office of Investigation, detailing potential weaknesses in the program’s controls.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD had adequate controls in place to provide oversight of the Section 184 program. The Office of Loan…

We audited Virgin Islands Community AIDS Resource & Education, Inc.’s (VICARE) Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program.  This audit was the result of a referral from the San Juan Office of Community Planning and Development.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether VICARE spent HOPWA funds in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements and for eligible…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the City of Colorado Springs’ Community Initiatives and Economic Vitality Division based upon findings identified in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, memorandum number 2014-DE-1802.  The objectives of our audit were to determine whether the City properly committed its HOME Investment…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the City of Colorado Springs’ Community Initiatives and Economic Vitality Division based upon findings identified in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General, memorandum number 2014-DE-1802.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City used its grant funds for eligible project costs and…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Christian Care Home based on prior instances of fraud and embezzlement and low quality ratings.  Our audit objective was to determine whether Christian Care Home properly maintained the residents’ trust balances and accounts receivable. Christian Care Home’s books and accounts for its individual resident trusts and accounts receivable were…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General selected the Hidden Lake Care Center for review based on a news article entitled “Poorly Rated Nursing Homes Got HUD Guaranteed Mortgages Anyway,” published by the Center for Public Integrity.  The article stated that 240 facilities in 38 States and Washington, DC, received HUD-backed mortgages worth nearly $2 billion a month after receiving a low, one-…

We audited Prudential Huntoon Paige Associates, LTD’s underwriting of a $19.9 million mortgage loan to develop Amaranth at 544, a senior multifamily project located in Lewisville, TX.  We initiated the review based on the early default, assignment, and significant amount of the project.  Our objective was to determine whether Prudential underwrote and processed the loan for Amaranth according to the U.S. Department of Housing and…

We audited the City of New Orleans’ Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) assistance funds awarded to the City as a result of damages caused by Hurricane Isaac.  Our objective was to determine whether the City maintained adequate procurement controls and financial management systems and administered its CDBG-DR funds in accordance with Federal guidelines, HUD regulations, and other requirements. We found that the…

We performed the 19th 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 awarded 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.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether LMDC disbursed CDBG Disaster Recovery Assistance…

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Affordable Housing Programs’ oversight of leases in HOME Investment Partnerships Program-funded rental housing projects.  The review was part of the activities in our fiscal year 2015 annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD’s Office had adequate oversight of participating jurisdictions to ensure that leases between rental projects…

The Inspector General Act of 1978 requires the Inspector General to prepare semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office of Inspector General for the preceding six-month periods. The semiannual reports are intended to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the Agency has made and recommendations for improvement.