HUD Probes Colorado Over Alleged Housing Assistance Fraud

More than 200 Coloradans got federal housing assistance beyond the grave, according to the Trump administration.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating whether Colorado housing providers helped nearly 3,000 people — including deceased residents — fraudulently receive taxpayer money from the government, the New York Post reported.

The investigation was launched after an internal HUD audit found that housing assistance benefits were granted to 221 dead people and another 87 who were otherwise ineligible. An additional 2,519 people are subject to secondary verification to ensure they were eligible to receive benefits at all.

“From deceased tenants to individuals receiving HUD housing benefits who were never supposed to, the department has questions for HUD-supported housing providers in Colorado, and we expect prompt answers and enforcement action,” a HUD spokesperson told the Post.

The alleged fraud occurred at most of the state’s 59 public housing agencies, a source told the Post. The purported fraud was most prevalent in the Denver Housing Authority.

HUD will reportedly order public housing agencies to perform additional verification of beneficiaries and remove deceased tenants and ineligible beneficiaries from their rolls, according to the Post. Housing providers will also be required to pay back all federal funds that went to ineligible recipients. Failure to comply could result in additional sanctions.

Colorado’s public housing agencies oversee about 38,000 leased units in either public housing properties or units covered by housing choice vouchers. HUD provides approximately $440 million in federal funds to the Rocky Mountain State.

HUD’s recent probes extend to both sides of the country.

Earlier this week, the agency announced it was planning to send investigators to Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, to determine the state of housing programs in those cities, according to the Post. The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority spends approximately $108 million annually on housing assistance, while St. Paul doles out $46 million.

At the same time, HUD is investigating the city of Boston’s housing policies due to what the department says are alleged violations of federal laws against discrimination in sales or rentals based on race, sex or national origin. Craig Trainor, HUD’s assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity, told Boston Mayor Michelle Wu that the city purportedly prioritized people of color in its affordable housing efforts rather than all low-income households, implying discrimination against white residents.

— Chris Malone Méndez