[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23850-23852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11061]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4417-N-01]


Publication of OIG Program Fraud Alert: Fraud and Abuse in 
Multifamily Mortgage Insurance Programs

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General (OIG), HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth an OIG Program Fraud Alert concerning 
fraud and abuse practices involving the misuse of funds intended to 
support the operation of multifamily rental housing projects with HUD 
insured mortgages.

[[Page 23851]]

Program Fraud Alerts address national trends in housing fraud. This 
notice specifically identifies and highlights violations of applicable 
statutes and HUD requirements involving the misuse or diversion of 
project assets or income by project owners or management agents, 
referred to throughout this notice as ``equity skimming.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David J. Derecola, OIG/Office of 
Audit, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, 
SW, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number 202-708-3444, ext. 124. 
Hearing- or speech-impaired individuals may access this number via TTY 
by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8399.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Office of Inspector General (OIG) issues Program Fraud Alerts 
based on information it obtains concerning particular fraudulent and 
abusive practices in HUD programs. Program Fraud Alerts provide the OIG 
with a means of notifying the public that we have become aware of 
certain abusive practices which we are pursuing criminally, civilly, or 
administratively, as appropriate. Program Fraud Alerts also serve as an 
effective tool to encourage compliance by program participants and 
provide them an opportunity to examine their own practices.
    This is our first Program Fraud Alert to be published in the 
Federal Register. We intend to publish future Program Fraud Alerts in 
this same manner as a regular part of our dissemination of such 
information.
    With regard to HUD's multifamily housing mortgage insurance 
programs, this Program Fraud Alert discusses: (1) The nature of HUD's 
multifamily mortgage insurance programs; (2) the vulnerabilities of 
multifamily projects to equity skimming; and (3) the use of OIG's anti-
fraud initiative--Operation Safe Home--to combat equity skimming.

Program Fraud Alert: Equity Skimming in HUD Multifamily Housing 
Mortgage Insurance Programs

    The OIG was established at the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development by Congress to identify and eliminate fraud, abuse, and 
waste in the Department's programs and to promote efficiency and 
economy in departmental operations. The OIG carries out this mission 
through independent and objective audits and investigations. To reduce 
fraud and abuse in HUD's housing programs, the OIG actively pursues the 
investigation of fraudulent schemes that illegally seek to obtain money 
or other benefits from these programs. A common practice for illegally 
taking money from projects is equity skimming. Equity skimming is 
costly both to the residents of rental housing projects and the 
taxpayers who subsidize the projects through HUD programs.

Multifamily Housing Mortgage Insurance Programs

    The National Housing Act, as amended, authorizes HUD to provide 
insurance to private lenders who make financing available to owners of 
multifamily housing projects. In return, the owner agrees to operate 
the projects in a manner that provides affordable and well maintained 
housing for tenants and protects the financial interests of the Federal 
government. As a condition of providing insurance, owners must sign a 
Regulatory Agreement with HUD. Provisions in the Regulatory Agreement 
specify that expenditures must be reasonable and necessary to the 
project and further limit the circumstances and manner in which the 
owner may take cash or other assets out of the project.
    HUD has about $45 billion of insurance in force on mortgage loans 
for about 15,000 multifamily rental properties. About 75 percent of the 
FHA-insured projects also receive some form of direct rental subsidy on 
behalf of tenants from HUD.

What Is Equity Skimming In HUD Multifamily Housing Programs?

    Equity skimming is the willful misuse of any part of the rents, 
assets, proceeds, income or other funds derived from the project 
covered by the mortgage. The use of project assets or income for other 
than reasonable operating expenses and necessary repairs, or for the 
payment of unauthorized distributions to the owner, constitutes a 
violation of the Regulatory Agreement between the owner and HUD.
    The misuse or diversion of project assets and income by owners of 
insured multifamily projects plays a significant part in the 
realization of losses to the FHA insurance funds. Further, equity 
skimming deprives projects of needed funds for repairs and maintenance. 
This in turn contributes to the financial and physical deterioration of 
projects and the resultant substandard living conditions for the 
families who depend upon the Federal government to provide housing. The 
communities where these projects are located also suffer because they 
become the breeding ground for crime, violence, and drugs.

What Are the Penalties for Misusing Project Funds?

    The use of project funds in violation of the Regulatory Agreement 
is actionable civilly under the Double Damages Statute, 12 U.S.C. 
1715z-4a. The Double Damages Statute permits the government to recover 
double the value of any assets or income of a project that the court 
determines to have been used in violation of a Regulatory Agreement, 
regulation or other form of regulatory control that has been imposed by 
the Secretary of HUD. The use of assets or income in violation of the 
regulatory agreement includes any use for which the documentation in 
the books and accounts does not establish that the use was made for 
reasonable operating expenses or necessary repair of the project. In 
addition, the government can recover any and all costs relating to its 
lawsuit for such damages, including reasonable attorney and auditing 
fees. The Double Damages Statute considers the use of project assets or 
income without adequate documentation as a prima facie case that the 
assets or income were used in violation of the Regulatory Agreement. 
Consequently, the Double Damages Statute can be used to recover costs 
that are not adequately documented by the owner. HUD does not have to 
prove criminal intent. Action can be taken against any person violating 
the statute which owns a project, as identified in the Regulatory 
Agreement, including but not limited to any stockholder holding 25 
percent or more interest of a corporation that owns the project; any 
beneficial owner under any business or trust; any officer, director, or 
partner of an entity owning the project; and any heir, assignee, 
successor in interest, or agent of any owner.
    The misuse of project funds can also be prosecuted as a criminal 
matter under 12 U.S.C. 1715z-19. Under the criminal statute, equity 
skimming is defined as willfully using or authorizing ``the use of any 
part of the rents, assets, proceeds, income or other funds derived from 
the property for any purpose other than to meet actual or necessary 
expense * * * in a period during which the mortgage note is in default 
or the project is in a nonsurplus cash position, as defined by the 
regulatory agreement, * * *'' Violation of this provision is a felony 
and can be punished by up to five years imprisonment and fines up to 
$500,000.

HUD's Anti-Crime Initiative

    On February 4, 1994, Vice President Gore, former HUD Secretary 
Cisneros, Attorney General Reno, former Treasury

[[Page 23852]]

Secretary Bentsen, and former National Drug Control Policy Director 
Brown announced ``OPERATION SAFE HOME'' in a joint press conference at 
the White House. Three major types of crime affecting HUD programs were 
targeted by Operation Safe Home:
     Equity skimming in multifamily insured projects;
     Violent crime in public and assisted housing; and
     Fraud in the administration of public housing.
    Implemented at HUD by the OIG, Operation Safe Home brings the 
coordinated resources and expertise of federal, State, and local law 
enforcement agencies to bear on crime in public and assisted housing. 
Operation Safe Home represents the OIG's commitment to focus resources 
on combating areas of high vulnerability and to hold such focus until 
the vulnerabilities are reduced to an acceptable level--the primary 
mission of HUD's OIG.
    As part of Operation Safe Home, OIG has initiated an aggressive 
proactive effort to pursue civil litigation and criminal prosecution 
against owners of multifamily housing projects who misuse project 
operating funds--the equity skimming effort. A primary objective of the 
equity skimming effort is to create an enforcement program that 
provides an effective deterrent and recovery mechanism for the misuse 
of income and assets at projects having HUD insured mortgages.
    OIG identifies and pursues, with the assistance of the U.S. 
Attorneys and HUD officials, the recovery of funds diverted from 
projects. Assistant U.S. Attorneys throughout the nation have played a 
significant role in the success realized by Operation Safe Home in 
cracking down on equity skimming in HUD's housing programs. Funds 
recovered in this manner can be directed at improving living conditions 
for the tenants and minimizing financial losses to HUD.

What Are the More Common Types of Equity Skimming?

    If the project is in a non-surplus cash position or is in default, 
the following actions would most likely constitute equity skimming:
     Distributions or withdrawal of cash;
     Repayment of advances made to the project by the owner/
agent;
     Lending funds to owners, partners, affiliates or the 
management agent;
     Payments of principal and/or interest on any secondary 
financing unless approved by HUD;
     Splitting of management fees with the project owner;
     Using project funds to purchase equipment or services not 
for use by the project;
     Paying more for services and supplies than could be 
procured on the open market;
     Payment of construction or rehabilitation costs from 
operations that should have been paid from mortgage proceeds;
     Payments to consultants, attorneys, accountants for 
partnership activities, which are not reasonable and necessary 
operating expenses of the project; and
     Payments on personal or other business loans.
    Project owners and management agents need to be aware of these 
common ineligible expenditures or misuses of funds, and need to avoid 
using project funds in these ways. Owners must remember that a project 
with a HUD insured mortgage is not like other rental properties they 
may own. Owners agree to certain restrictions regarding the use of 
project income and assets before becoming involved with HUD insured 
mortgages. Given the strong civil and criminal penalties which can be 
imposed for such violations, it is in the best interest of all project 
owners and agents to ensure adherence to the terms of their Regulatory 
Agreements.

What To Do if You Suspect Fraud Involving HUD's Multifamily Housing 
Programs?

    If you have information about the misuse of project funds as 
described above, contact any of the district offices of the Office of 
Inspector General in HUD listed below, or call the OIG Hotline toll 
free at 1-800-347-3735 or any local HUD program office.

Office of Inspector General District Offices

New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT), District Inspector General for 
Audit, (617) 565-5259, Special Agent in Charge, (617) 565-5293, 
Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr., Federal Bldg., 10 Causeway Street, Boston, 
MA 02222-1092
New York/New Jersey (NJ, NY), District Inspector General for Audit, 
(212) 264-8000, Special Agent in Charge, (212) 264-8062, 26 Federal 
Plaza, Suite 3430, New York, NY 10278-0068
Mid Atlantic (DE, MD, PA, VA, WV), District Inspector General for 
Audit, (215) 656-3401, Special Agent in Charge, (215) 656-3410, The 
Wanamaker Bldg., 100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3390
Southeast/Caribbean AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, PR, SC, TN), District 
Inspector General for Audit, (404) 331-3369, Special Agent in 
Charge, (404) 331-5159, Richard B. Russell Federal Bldg., 75 Spring 
Street, S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303-3388
Midwest (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI), District Inspector General for 
Audit, (312) 353-7832, Special Agent in Charge, (312) 353-4196, 
Ralph H. Metcalf Federal Bldg., 77 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 
60604-3507
Southwest (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX), District Inspector General for 
Audit, (817) 978-9309, Special Agent in Charge, (817) 978-9310, P.O. 
Box 2905, 1600 Trockmorton, Fort Worth, TX 76113-2905
Great Plains (IA, KS, MO, NE), District Inspector General for Audit, 
(913) 551-5871, Special Agent in Charge, (913) 551-5866, Gateway 
Tower II, 5th Floor, 400 State Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66101-2406
Rocky Mountains (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY), District Inspector General 
for Audit, (303) 672-5452, Special Agent in Charge, (303) 672-5449, 
First Interstate Tower North, 633 Seventeenth Street, Denver, CO 
08202-3607
Pacific/Hawaii (AZ, CA, HI, NV), District Inspector General for 
Audit, (415) 436-8101, Special Agent in Charge, (415) 436-8108, 450 
Golden Gate Avenue, P. O. Box 36003, San Francisco, CA 94102-3348
Northwest/Alaska (AK, ID, OR, WA), District Inspector General for 
Audit, (206) 220-5360, Special Agent in Charge, (206) 220-5380, 
Seattle Federal Office Bldg., 909 1st Avenue, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 
98101-1000
Capital Office (DC), District Inspector General for Audit, (202) 
708-2650, Special Agent in Charge, (202) 708-0387, 451 7th Street, 
S.W., Room 8256, Washington, DC 20410-4500

    Dated: March 29, 1999.
Susan Gaffney,
Inspector General.
[FR Doc. 99-11061 Filed 5-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-01-P