A report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently revealed billions in taxpayer funds that went to "questionable" rental assistance recipients under former President Joe Biden.
The recipients included approximately 30,000 deceased tenants and thousands of potential non-citizens, according to a copy of HUD's "Agency Financial Report" for fiscal year 2025 obtained by the New York Post.
HUD officials told the Post that a "large concentration" of the funds went to New York, California and Washington, D.C., with deceased recipients getting funds in all 50 states.
The department conducted an automation that compared a U.S. Treasury database to HUD's records. The process uncovered 30,054 deceased tenants who were either actively enrolled in rental assistance programs or had received assistance after they passed, according to HUD's report. The department found the possibly problematic payments through its own internal financial review and analytics, according to the report.
"A massive abuse of taxpayer dollars not only occurred under President Biden’s watch, but was effectively incentivized by his administration’s failure to implement strong financial controls resulting in billions worth of potential improper payments," HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement provided to the Post.
"HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable," he said. "Additionally, the Department is advancing efforts made under President Trump’s first administration to strengthen program integrity and ensure taxpayer-funded assistance serves the vulnerable communities it was intended for."
In FY 2024, HUD distributed around $50 billion in federal rental assistance to non-federal entities, including $5.8 billion of what the report describes as "questionable payments."
HUD pointed the finger at the Biden administration for a directive "to push funding out the door with minimal oversight." In the report, HUD alleges that the Biden administration failed to provide the department with the tools needed to verify whether entities were enforcing "the intricate rules governing rental assistance." The report also noted that HUD's rental assistance programs "placed substantial trust and responsibility" in the non-federal entities receiving the funds.
"HUD is implementing processes and procedures to revoke or pause funding as part of its efforts to hold bad actors accountable," an official told the Post. "Additionally, the Department could make criminal referrals and exercise other enforcement actions once it has confirmed fraud occurred."
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