Trump administration suspends Virgin Islands housing authority funding

Key Points:

• The Trump administration has suspended the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (VIHFA) from receiving federal funding due to years of alleged financial mismanagement, poor audit results, and the conviction of a former executive involved in a disaster-recovery contracting fraud scheme.
• HUD Secretary Scott Turner emphasized the administration's commitment to preventing corruption and waste, stating that organizations with mismanagement and criminal activity will no longer be allowed to misuse taxpayer dollars.
• HUD's investigation revealed that VIHFA misused nearly $2 billion allocated for recovery after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, with only a small fraction of housing projects completed and excessive administrative spending, including $52.6 million on administrative costs.
• The former VIHFA COO, Darin Richardson, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for bank fraud, money laundering, and related crimes involving kickbacks from contractors, which HUD cited as evidence of weak internal controls and fraud risks at VIHFA.
• VIHFA has 30 days to request a hearing to contest the funding suspension, which HUD has made effective immediately while the investigation continues.