We audited the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s (Authority) management of lead‐based paint in its public housing program based on our assessment of the risks of lead‐based paint in public housing agencies’ (PHA) housing developments. The risk factors included the age of buildings, the number of units, household demographics, reported cases of childhood lead poisoning, and reports of missing lead‐based paint inspections in HUD’s data. The…

We audited the Philadelphia, PA, Housing Authority’s use of public housing program operating funds because we received a complaint alleging that the Authority misused U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds.  Our objective was to determine whether allegations from the complaint had merit.  We focused the audit on whether the Authority properly procured (1) relocation services, (2) job training services, (3) a…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Easton, PA’s Housing Choice Voucher Program because (1) we received a complaint alleging that the Authority made improper payments to program participants and a consultant to the Authority inappropriately placed herself on the program waiting list and (2) we had never audited the Authority.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program in accordance with…

We audited Bank2’s origination of Section 184 Loan Guarantees for Indian Housing program loans.  We selected Bank2’s Section 184 program because (1) an internal audit report and corrective action verification determined that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lacked proper oversight of the program and lenders did not underwrite loans in accordance with HUD requirements 2) Bank2 is one of the largest Section 184…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York in a civil investigation of Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services, LP, now known as Finance of America Mortgage, LLC (FAM).  Gateway was a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved mortgage lender.  On May 31, 2015,…

We audited the City of Erie, PA’s Community Development Block Grant program because we received a complaint regarding its code enforcement program and we had not audited the City’s program since 1997.  The complaint alleged that the City targeted low- to middle-income residents in certain neighborhoods requiring expensive repairs to their homes and properties, which could result in legal actions and liens if the homeowners did not make…

We audited the Adams County Housing Authority because (1) a news article reported that the executive director received an excessive salary and practiced nepotism, (2) we received a complaint alleging nepotism and potential misuse of Federal funds, and (3) we had never audited the Authority.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its program according to applicable U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

On April 17, 2018, the Office of Program Enforcement issued a letter stating that it had reached a resolution under a Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986[1] case regarding Summit Bradford Apartments located in Tulsa, OK, following its review.  The Government alleged that the owner submitted 40 false claims under the Act.  The Office of Program Enforcement included with its letter the March 28, 2018, settlement agreement with BSR…

We audited Diamond Park because of concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Departmental Enforcement Center regarding the management of the project 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 HUD requirements.  We focused the audit on reviewing (1) participant eligibility and their…

We audited RMS & Associates’ Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan origination because it was one of the top lenders that originated FHA-insured loans with downpayment assistance from the City of Las Vegas.  A previous U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG), audit (Evergreen Home Loans, 2016-LA-1011) found that Evergreen originated FHA-insured loans in connection with the City of Las…

We audited the Chester Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program because (1) it recently regained control of its operations after 20 years in receivership, (2) it had 1,566 vouchers and received more than $14.9 million in fiscal year 2016, and (3) we had not audited its program.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority ensured that its Housing Choice Voucher program units met the U.S. Department of Housing and…

We audited Schwenckfeld Manor because it was a high-risk multifamily project on our multifamily risk assessment for projects within our region and we had never audited it.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the project owner (1) disbursed project funds for costs that were reasonable, necessary, and supported for the operation and maintenance of the project; and (2) properly disclosed identity-of-interest relationships. The…

We audited SecurityNational Mortgage Company’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan origination because it was among the top lenders that originated FHA-insured loans with downpayment assistance from the City of Las Vegas.  A previous U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG), audit (Evergreen Home Loans, 2016-LA-1011) found that Evergreen originated FHA-insured loans in connection with…

We audited Venta Financial Group’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan origination because it was one of the top lenders that originated FHA-insured loans with downpayment assistance from the City of Las Vegas.  A previous U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG) audit (Evergreen Home Loans, 2016-LA-1011) found that Evergreen originated FHA-insured loans in connection with the City of…

We audited the City of Las Vegas’, Homebuyer Assistance Program under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Neighborhood Stabilization Program 3 (NSP3).  We initiated this review because of a prior HUD Office of Inspector General audit of Evergreen Home Loans issued September 12, 2016 (audit report 2016-LA-1011).  The Evergreen Home Loans audit report identified 14 loans that received home-buyer assistance as…

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Tulsa’s administration of its Section 8 program.  We selected the Authority based on reports generated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Enterprise Income Verification system (EIV).  The Authority had indicators of noncompliance with program requirements.  Specifically, EIV reported an annualized income discrepancy of more than $1.6 million for 328…

We audited Clark County, NV’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.  We selected Clark County for review due to its large grant size and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk assessment.  The reporting objective of the audit was to determine whether Clark County followed procurement requirements, ensured that CDBG projects met CDBG national objectives, and spent CDBG funds on eligible expenses.…

We audited Laurentian Hall Apartments (project) because of its failure to submit financial statements in a timely manner and because we had never audited the project before.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the project’s owner managed the project in accordance with its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-held mortgage and other HUD requirements. The owner of Laurentian Hall Apartments did not always manage…

We audited the City of Pittsburgh, PA’s administration of its Community Development Block Grant program.  We conducted the audit because the City’s program had the second largest number of completed activities without accomplishment information reported nationwide.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the City administered its Block Grant program in accordance with applicable U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (…

We audited the State of Oklahoma because it received $93.7 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) allocations for presidentially declared disasters that occurred in 2011, 2012, and 2013.  The substantial amount of CDBG-DR funding required a review of the State’s program.  Our objective was to determine whether the State obligated and spent its grant in accordance with requirements.  The State…