Effective: September 1, 2009
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has advised public housing authorities administering the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program to develop a written fraud policy and demonstrate the importance and commitment to combating fraud, waste and abuses in federal housing programs. In response to that recommendation, this policy has been developed for use with MSHDA’s HCV program, and including developments participating in the Moderate Rehabilitation Program (MRP)/Single Room Occupancy (SRO) program with MSHDA.
All participants (including tenants, landlords, MSHDA staff, MRP/SRO Development management staff, and contracted Housing Agents) of the HCV Program are charged with preventing, identifying and reporting fraud. All suspected program abuses or fraud in the HCV or Mod Rehab Programs must be reported immediately upon discovery to MSHDA’s Office of Housing Voucher Program (OHVP) Compliance Enforcement Coordinator (CEC).
HUD has identified, and MSHDA has adopted the following definition of fraud.
Fraud: Refers to a single act or pattern of actions that constitute a material, false statement, misrepresentation, omission, or concealment of a substantial fact made by any participant (i.e. tenant, landlord, employee, or contractor) with the intent to deceive or mislead. This includes, but is not limited to, any of the following activities:
Investigations of fraud or other criminal activity will not be disclosed outside of those with a need to know, i.e. law enforcement, HUD officials, MSHDA officials charged with the administration of the HCV Program, etc. Reports of fraud that concern or involve a government employee will be referred to their employer.
Whistle Blower Protection – Any employee, contractor, Program participant, etc. who reports fraud, criminal activity, or other program irregularities will not be subject to retaliatory action by MSHDA Staff if you are not materially involved in the fraudulent action or an attempt to conceal the fraudulent activity.
Complaints, referrals, or reports of program abuses, fraud, or criminal activity in the HCV Program made publicly or anonymously will be accepted and investigated to the best ability of the MSHDA OHVP Compliance Enforcement Unit. As appropriate, those investigations may be referred to HUD OIG or other entities for further action.
The Compliance Enforcement Unit of the OHVP of MSHDA conducts investigations of suspected or reported program abuses or fraud in the HCV or Mod Rehab/SRO Program. The Director of the MSHDA OHVP, the Director of MSHDA’s Office of Legal Affairs, and the Executive Director of MSHDA has the authority to obtain and examine investigative materials.
All applicants of MSHDA’s HCV Program are advised in their Program Briefing session that MSHDA verifies information they provide to check for accuracy. As part of the Voucher Briefing Packet (MSHDA 145) distributed in the briefing session, all tenants are issued HUD’s pamphlet, Is Fraud Worth It? (HUD 1141) This pamphlet describes HUD’s definition of fraud which includes providing false or misleading information, including non-reporting or under-reporting of income.
Additionally, MSHDA periodically sends Fraud Notification mailings to all tenant and landlord participants of the HCV Program.
Contracted Housing Agents and MSHDA staff are required to attend annual security briefings. In addition, other trainings are given periodically which address the commitment MSHDA’s HCV Program has made to combating fraud, waste, and abuse of Program resources.
MSHDA employs a variety of techniques to detect errors, program abuses and fraud such as file audits, compliance reviews, quality control inspections, etc. When these methods identify a problem, a referral is made to the Compliance Enforcement Unit who will conduct an investigation to determine whether a program abuse and/or fraud is evident and what corrective measures need to be taken such as repayment of HAP, contract termination, etc.
HCV Program staff and Contracted Housing Agents primarily utilize a variety of resources to determine that data supplied by Program applicants and participants is authentic, specifically the review of data contained in various public and private databases including:
The Compliance Enforcement Unit of the MSHDA OHVP utilizes all of the above in their investigations and many additional sources, which include, but are not limited to:
Those who commit program abuses and/or fraud in connection with a federally-subsidized housing program are subject to a variety of penalties, including possible prosecution by state or federal authorities. Consequences specific to Program participants’ roles are noted as follows (in addition to possible state or federal prosecution):
All participants, landlords, or owners will be notified in writing if there are findings of program abuses or fraud in relation to their participation in the HCV Program. When repayment of HAP or UAP is deemed appropriate for participants, the MSHDA policy on Processing Tenant Repayment Agreements (PPM Chapter XXVIII) will be followed. When termination of assistance for participants is deemed appropriate, the MSHDA policy on Terminations (PPM Chapter XIV) will be followed. When termination of a HAP Contract is deemed appropriate for landlords or owners, the MSHDA Policy on Terminations (PPM Chapter XIV) will be followed and appropriate remedies will be sought.
Tenant participants will be offered an opportunity for an Informal Hearing as applicable, and as detailed in the Program Termination Notice (MSHDA 1634b).
All participants in the HCV and MRP/SRO Program, employees, contracted Housing Agents, MRP/SRO Development Management staff, tenants, and landlords are required to report any suspected fraud to the MSHDA CEC as soon as they are aware of an occurrence.
In addition to notification to the MSHDA CEC, HCV program participants may also contact the HUD OIG Fraud Hotline at 1-800-347-3735 or via E-mail at hotline@hudoig.gov.
Form Number |
Title |
| HUD 1141 | Is Fraud Worth It? |
| MSHDA 145 | Voucher Briefing Packet |
| MSHDA 1634b | Program Termination Notice |