We audited the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority’s Non-Federal Match Program for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds.  This Match Program was developed to assist non-Federal entities in paying for their share of projects that addressed unmet needs because of the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria.  We initiated this audit due to the $415 million of CDBG-DR funds allocated by the Authority and to…

We audited the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority’s monitoring of its Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)-funded activities.  We initiated the audit because of the large amount of CDBG-DR funds awarded to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2017 disasters and to aid in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) strategic objective to support effectiveness and accountability in long-term disaster…

We audited Luther Towers II because it was a high-risk multifamily project that received low inspection and financial assessment scores on our multifamily risk assessment for projects within our region and we had never audited it.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the owner managed the project in accordance with its regulatory agreement and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The owner of Luther…

We audited the Fairmont-Morgantown Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program because (1) we received a complaint alleging that the Authority did not follow program requirements, (2) the Authority administered 1,117 vouchers and received more than $5.2 million in funding for fiscal year 2016, and (3) we had not audited its program.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority ensured that its Housing Choice Voucher…

We audited the Fairmont-Morgantown Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program because (1) we received a complaint alleging that the Authority did not follow program requirements, (2) the Authority administered 1,117 vouchers and received more than $5.2 million in funding for fiscal year 2016, and (3) we had not audited its program.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority adequately administered its Housing…

We audited the Virgin Islands Housing Authority’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program’s housing quality standards as part of the activities in our fiscal year 2015 audit plan.  We selected the Authority because it had a large program receiving more than $14 million in 2014. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority’s inspection process adequately ensured that its units complied with housing quality standards. The…

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…

We audited the Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program because (1) it received more than $13.7 million in program funding in fiscal year 2012, (2) it is the largest assisted housing agency in the State of West Virginia, and (3) we had never audited its Housing Choice Voucher program.  The audit objectives were to determine whether the Authority ensured that its Housing Choice Voucher program units met U.S.…

We audited Mountain CAP of WV, Inc.’s administration of its Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program funds. We selected Mountain CAP for audit because of a complaint alleging that controls over its disbursements were weak. Our audit objective was to determine whether Mountain CAP maintained proper financial management of and accountability for its program to ensure that it used the funds according to the American Recovery and…

We audited the Wilmington Housing Authority's administration of its Public Housing Capital Fund Recovery Act-Funded Formula and Competitive Grants that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). We selected the Authority for audit because it received a $5.2 million Public Housing Capital Fund Formula (Recovery Act-Funded) grant and two Public Housing Capital Fund Competitive (Recovery Act-Funded)…

We audited the West Virginia Housing Development Fund’s (Fund) Tax Credit Assistance Program (Program) funds awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) due to a complaint from the Recovery and Transparency Board. We also audited the Fund’s Program because it was the only housing finance agency across the Nation that had not spent any of its Program funds. Our objective was to determine whether the Fund…

We audited the Wilmington Housing Authority’s (Authority) administration of its housing quality standards inspection program for its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program as part of our fiscal year 2009 audit plan. The audit objective was to determine whether the Authority adequately administered its Section 8 housing quality standards inspection program to ensure that its program units met housing quality standards in accordance with U.S.…

We audited the Newark, Delaware, branch office (branch office) of J.P. Morgan Chase bank (J.P. Morgan Chase), a supervised direct endorsement lender approved to originate Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family mortgage loans. We selected the branch office because its default rate was above the state’s average default rate. Our objective was to determine whether J.P. Morgan Chase complied with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

We audited the Newark, Delaware, branch office (branch office) of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (Wells Fargo). The branch office is mainly responsible for underwriting loans for 22 Wells Fargo sales branch offices in Pennsylvania. We selected the branch office because of its relatively high default rate, compared with the average default rate for the state of Pennsylvania. Our objective was to determine whether the branch office complied with U.S.…

Claims Relate to Fraudulent Disaster Recovery Services After Devastating 2016 Flooding in West VirginiaCHARLESTON, W.Va. – Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston announced today that Thompson Construction Group Inc., of Sumter, South Carolina, has agreed to pay the United States $191,070 to resolve civil allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act by submitting false claims for payment from federal disaster recovery…

Defendant Fraudulently Obtained $223,870 FHA-Insured Home MortgageHUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Jason Trador, 46, of Scott Depot, was sentenced today to one year and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $65,302.16 in restitution for making a false statement to federal agents, willfully overvaluing property on a loan application, and three counts of making a false statement to the United States…

St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Department of Education Director of Maintenance, Davidson Charlemagne, 50, and his wife Sasha Charlemagne, 44, both of St. Croix, were arrested after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging the pair with government program fraud, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. The indictment also charges former Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (“VIHFA”)…

Defendant Fraudulently Obtained $223,870 FHA-Insured Home MortgageHUNTINGTON, W.Va. – After two days of trial, a federal jury convicted Jason Trador, 46, of Scott Depot, on April 10, 2024, of making a false statement to federal agents, willfully overvaluing property on a loan application, and three counts of making a false statement to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)Evidence at trial proved that Trador…

BECKLEY, W.Va. – Timothy Gross, 39, of Beckley, was sentenced today to five years of probation and ordered to pay $65,275.44 in restitution for wire fraud. Gross admitted to making a fraudulent payment with an employer-issued credit card as part of a scheme to divert $65,275.44 in credit card charges to his personal bank account.According to court documents and statements made in court, Gross was hired by Amerihost LLC in 2020 as a maintenance…