HUD Suspends $1.9 Billion Virgin Islands Housing Authority Funding Over Fraud and Mismanagement
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 20
HUD Suspends $1.9 Billion Virgin Islands Housing Authority Funding Over Fraud and Mismanagement
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 20
Summary
HUD immediately barred the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority from further federal funding and procurement, giving it 30 days to request a hearing before the suspension becomes final.
A 13-page HUD notice cited nearly $2 billion in hurricane-recovery aid, saying years of weak controls, false certifications and audit failures left residents without promised housing and reliable power nine years after Irma and Maria.
Audits found recovery work badly lagging: only 2% of planned single-family rental, 16% of homeowner and 19% of multifamily rental projects were completed, while none of 329 mitigation housing projects had finished.
HUD also pointed to former COO Darin Richardson’s March sentence of 36 months in prison; prosecutors said he took $107,000 in kickbacks tied to a contract later inflated 50% to $4.5 million.
The move extends the Trump administration’s broader anti-fraud push against federal grant recipients, with HUD Secretary Scott Turner framing it as a crackdown on waste and abuse of taxpayer funds.