{"id":4603,"date":"2026-07-21T09:05:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4603"},"modified":"2026-07-21T09:05:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:05:41","slug":"hud-suspends-funds-to-virgin-islands-housing-authority-because-of-rampant-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4603","title":{"rendered":"HUD suspends funds to Virgin Islands Housing Authority because of rampant fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Housing and Urban Development on Monday suspended funding for the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority after finding widespread financial mismanagement, inadequate fraud controls, false certifications and improper payments.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4601\">Officials sought phone records of NYT journalists and their relatives in effort to unmask sources<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A HUD investigation found a pattern of fraud, financial mismanagement, and program failures that emerged following the cleanup of 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria that devastated the U.S. Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly a decade after VIHFA received $1.9 billion in HUD disaster recovery funding. The money spent, however, went to kickbacks and other fraudulent schemes, according to the agency.<\/p>\n<p>HUD Secretary Scott Turner said VIHFA isn\u2019t \u201creceiving another cent\u201d as the agency continues its investigation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Trump administration is changing the game when it comes to who we entrust with taxpayer dollars. Organizations riddled with corruption, mismanagement, and crime will no longer be allowed to squander billions,\u201d Mr. Turner said. \u201cVirgin Islands Housing Finance Authority officials cannot be allowed to prioritize kickbacks over helping families recover from disasters. I promised that HUD would be a faithful steward of the American people\u2019s hard-earned money, and we are keeping that promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Between 2018 and 2021, HUD allocated nearly $1.9 billion to VIHFA for recovery. By 2023, the Office of Inspector General audits found weak financial control and poor oversight and monitoring.<\/p>\n<p>VIHFA\u2019s former Chief Operating Officer Darin Richardson, who oversaw disaster recovery programs, was convicted of charges relating to a kickback scheme.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4599\">Wilt Chamberlain Lakers jacket found by a teen at a thrift store could fetch over $150K at auction<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Richardson was supposed to be overseeing disaster recovery contracts. He steered a lumber storage contract to a favored company, inflated its value from $3 million to $4.5 million and pocketed a $107,000 kickback.<\/p>\n<p>The lumber \u2014 meant to help rebuild homes \u2014 was left to rot in the sun and was a total loss.<\/p>\n<p>He was sentenced in March to 36 months in a federal prison.<\/p>\n<p>Because his scheme played out through his official duties, HUD says his criminal conduct legally counts as VIHFA\u2019s own conduct.<\/p>\n<p>The HUD investigation also found that, after receiving nearly $2 billion in federal dollars, VIHFA completed just 2% of single-family rental rehabilitation projects and none of the intended single and multifamily housing projects.<\/p>\n<p>According to HUD\u2019s Office of Inspector General, VIHFA\u2019s fraud risk management processes were \u201cat or below the lowest desired goal state,\u201d and VIHFA sought $6.2 million in disaster-related costs that FEMA had already paid.<\/p>\n<p>Other evidence suggested that VIHFA repeatedly made false certifications claiming an effective compliance program and may have submitted additional false certifications to obtain further funding.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4597\">Luke Skywalker\u2019s \u2018Empire Strikes Back\u2019 lightsaber with severed hand attached auctioned for $3.75M<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Housing and Urban Development on Monday suspended funding for the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority after finding widespread financial mismanagement, inadequate fraud controls, false certifications and improper payments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[2679,2678,2680],"class_list":["post-4603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","tag-housing-and-urban-development","tag-scott-turner","tag-virgin-islands-housing-finance-authority"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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