California Housing Agency’s Grant Program Vulnerable to Fraud, Audit Says

Inadequate fraud-prevention policies at California’s housing department put millions of dollars in federal funding at risk, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG) said in an Aug. 2 audit report. “[The department’s] internal control system was vulnerable with respect to fraud,” the inspector general wrote in the report on California’s Housing and Community Development Department (HCD). “HCD was not adequately prepared to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud due to the lack of focus it placed on fraud risks and establishing a robust fraud risk management framework,” according to the report....