A report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found billions of dollars in taxpayer funds pertaining to “questionable payments.” HUD’s review targeted an estimated $5.8 billion in rental assistance payments that went to more than 200,000 tenants. Nearly 30,000 of these tenants were deceased, nearly 9,500 were non-citizens, and 165,393 were receiving sums that exceeded the threshold for assistance in their region, The New York Post detailed.
“A massive abuse of taxpayer dollars not only occurred under President Biden’s watch, but was effectively incentivized by his administration’s failure to implement strong financial controls resulting in billions’ worth of potential improper payments,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner. “HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable. Additionally, the Department is advancing efforts made under President Trump’s first administration to strengthen program integrity and ensure taxpayer-funded assistance serves the vulnerable communities it was intended for.”
HUD blamed the Biden administration for a directive to “push funding out the door with minimal oversight,” which “placed substantial trust and responsibility in these non-federal entities, such as housing authorities, contract administrators, and landlords, to accurately assess tenant eligibility for two of the most complex rental assistance programs,” the report says. It further states that the former White House administration failed to “provide HUD with effective tools, technology, or access to the evidence necessary to verify whether these entities were properly enforcing the intricate rules governing rental assistance.”
An official told The Post that the agency is “implementing processes and procedures to revoke or pause funding as part of its efforts to hold bad actors accountable.” The official added that the Department “could make criminal referrals and exercise other enforcement actions once it has confirmed fraud occurred.”
