221 Dead People Were Getting Housing – RedState
Ready for another exciting episode of “Rampant Welfare Fraud Costing Taxpayers Billions?” » Well, here we are; this time it’s Colorado, and the fraud involves housing assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Investigators found 221 people receiving federal housing assistance who have no reason to receive it unless a casket or urn can be considered “housing.”
That’s correct. 221 deaths, out of nearly 3,000 people in Colorado who were improperly receiving HUD benefits.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is investigating whether Colorado contractors helped nearly 3,000 people defraud Uncle Sam of taxpayer dollars, the Post has learned.
The investigation comes after an internal HUD audit found that benefits were granted to 221 deceased people, while 87 others were otherwise ineligible.
The department also said another 2,519 beneficiaries will need to undergo additional verification.
Here’s the question: Were these simply errors, the result of poor record-keeping, or deliberate fraud? It’s also not exactly a comfortable conclusion; When the answer is either criminality or gross incompetence, taxpayers take a bath in one case or the other. And HUD calls it apparent fraud.
“From deceased tenants to people 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 apparent fraud took place at most of the Rocky Mountain State’s 59 public housing agencies (PHAs) and was particularly pronounced at the Denver Housing Authority, a source said.
HUD officials should require PHAs to conduct additional verification of beneficiaries and remove deceased tenants and ineligible beneficiaries from their rolls.
And what else will happen?
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It appears that housing providers will be required to repay any money distributed to people not eligible to receive it, either because they do not meet income requirements or have died. But if it’s a fraud, if people lie about their income, or about their family situation, or about Aunt Nora’s death, what will happen to them? Will there be criminal proceedings? If not, why not?
Colorado is not the only state where HUD is seeing widespread fraud; one of the other locations should come as no surprise.
HUD also scrutinized other states.
Earlier this week, the Washington Examiner reported that the department plans to send investigators to Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, to assess the status of housing programs in those areas.
While the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority spends about $108 million a year on rental assistance, St. Paul spends only $46 million.
HUD’s plans to send staff to Minnesota come amid the billion-dollar Feeding Our Future fraud scandal that has rocked the state and follows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations focused on the Twin Cities.
What about these blue cities? Something in the water?
These kinds of things are more likely to happen because scammers have been able to do this for so long. In Colorado, donors must therefore reimburse allowances unduly received. Very good, good. But what about the people who lied? Who stole billions from taxpayers?
Until there are publicized trials and prison sentences, this type of fraud will continue to occur. It looks like some people in Minnesota could go to jail; It’s at least a start.
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