The Trump administration has its eyes on Colorado, as a recent audit raised questions about the use of taxpayer money by public housing agencies.
Nearly 3,000 people may have benefited from assistance as Colorado providers furnished funding that has triggered an investigation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into potential fraud.
“The investigation comes after an internal HUD audit found that benefits were granted to 221 dead people, while another 87 were otherwise ineligible,” the New York Post reported. “The department also said that another 2,519 beneficiaries will need to undergo additional verification.”
“From deceased tenants to individuals receiving HUD housing benefits who were never supposed to, the Department has questions for HUD-supported housing providers in Colorado, and we expect prompt answers and enforcement action,” a HUD spokesperson told the outlet.
According to one source, the alleged fraud occurred in most of Colorado’s 59 public housing agencies, with a concentration in the Denver Housing Authority.
“HUD officials are set to demand PHAs perform additional verification of beneficiaries and remove both deceased tenants and ineligible beneficiaries from their rolls,” The Post noted. “Housing providers will also be required to reimburse federal funds that went to ineligible individuals and face additional sanctions if they fail to comply.”
The local agencies are overseen by the state’s Division of Housing (DOH), providing rental assistance, including through the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which was formerly known as Section 8. Earlier this year, the Colorado State Housing Board approved more than $68.4 million in funding for homes, including 1,680 rental units.
“Colorado’s PHAs oversee 38,000 leased units, either in public housing or covered by housing choice vouchers. HUD provides some $440 million in federal money to the state,” according to The Post. “Typically, tenants are expected to contribute about 30% of their income to receive housing assistance.”
Evidently, Colorado is not the only state on HUD’s radar.
Investigators have been looking into federal aid programs in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, following the breaking scandal involving Somali residents in the state allegedly bilking taxpayers of billions of dollars.
A HUD spokesperson told the Washington Examiner last week that they are putting the region “on notice, that we are taking enforcement and fiscal oversight seriously, given the rampant fraud.”
Earlier this year, the Office of Inspector General alleged that Colorado had made 127,874 payments to people who “were listed as deceased by the Social Security Administration (SSA) but not listed as deceased in the state’s system,” according to Denver 7.
“Another 106,222 payments were reportedly made on behalf of recipients who were listed as deceased in the state’s system at the time of the audit,” the outlet reported in February.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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