Source: Fortune
Summary
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has suspended funding for the U.S. Virgin Islands’ housing authority due to widespread corruption and mismanagement of disaster recovery funds. An investigation found that the authority has spent only $570 million of the $1.9 billion allocated for disaster recovery, with many projects incomplete or unstarted. HUD Secretary Scott Turner accused officials of prioritizing “kickbacks over helping families recover from disasters.”
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The strategy enters a familiar phase.
The U.S. Virgin Islands’ housing authority has completed only two of 95 planned single-family rental rehabilitation projects and zero of 329 single and multifamily housing projects. The authority has spent more than half of its grant funds on administrative costs. A former chief operating officer is in federal prison for fraud and money laundering. The HUD investigation found “widespread financial mismanagement, inadequate fraud controls, false certifications and improper payments.”
The numbers tell a story of mismanagement and corruption.
Author: Evan Null
