The Trump administration is investigating housing assistance programs in Colorado after a federal audit identified payments made to deceased and ineligible recipients.
The New York Post reported that the Department of Housing and Urban Development is examining whether housing providers in the state improperly distributed federal funds to nearly 3,000 individuals.
According to HUD, an internal audit found that benefits were granted to 221 deceased individuals. Funds may have also improperly been disbursed to another 87 people who did not meet eligibility requirements.
HUD also said 2,519 additional beneficiaries have been discovered and require additional review.
"From deceased tenants to individuals 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.
A source familiar with the matter said the issues were identified across most of Colorado's 59 public housing agencies but were especially concentrated within the Denver Housing Authority.
HUD plans to require public housing agencies to conduct additional verification, remove deceased and ineligible individuals from program rolls, and correct beneficiary records.
Housing providers may also be required to reimburse federal funds paid to ineligible recipients and could face sanctions for noncompliance.
Colorado's public housing agencies oversee approximately 38,000 leased units through public housing and housing choice voucher programs.
HUD provides about $440 million in federal housing assistance to the state.
Under program rules, tenants typically contribute about 30% of their income toward housing costs.
Earlier this week, HUD sent investigators to Minneapolis and St. Paul to review housing programs in those cities.
The Minnesota review follows reporting on the Feeding Our Future fraud case and recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the Twin Cities.
The federal investigation is targeting as much as $1 billion in taxpayer funds that may have been siphoned from Minnesota's social services programs through a series of fraud schemes.
Much of the scrutiny has focused on several high-profile cases, including the Feeding Our Future scandal, in which a nonprofit allegedly claimed hundreds of millions of dollars for meals it said were provided to children during the COVID-19 pandemic but were never delivered.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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