Secretary Turner said the action was taken after an investigation found numerous issues surrounding disaster recovery funding.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner announced the suspension of funding for the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (VIHFA) in the wake of issues uncovered by the department’s investigation. The investigation found widespread financial mismanagement, inadequate fraud controls, false certifications, and improper payments.
The housing department reported that VIHFA received $1.9 billion in federal disaster recovery funding, and close to a decade later, VIHFA has applied less than a third of the total. The department determined that the funds may have been leveraged for kickbacks and potentially fraudulent schemes instead of supporting the local community. The incarceration of the former VIHFA’s Chief Operating Officer was among several incidents that contributed to the department’s conclusion.
“Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority officials cannot be allowed to prioritize kickbacks over helping families recover from disasters,“ Secretary Turner said. “Working with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, we are putting every grantee on notice: there are real consequences for abusing taxpayer dollars.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Secretary Turner to be prudent as he reviews the VIHFA’s case and determines the next steps.
- For jurisdictional authorities in states and territories to be discerning in their use of federal disaster funding to support their local communities and residents.
Sources: Department of Housing and Urban Development
