Housing Management Resources Pays $2.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act Matter Over Altered Section 8 Tenant Files
Housing Management Resources, Inc. (HMR), a full-service affordable-housing property management company, has paid the United States $2.5 million to resolve a civil False Claims Act matter involving Section 8 housing assistance payments at two properties managed by HMR, announced First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III of the Northern District of New York.
The settlement resolves claims concerning HMR's management of the Albert Carriere Apartments, also known as Champlain Family Housing, in Rouses Point, New York, and Leisure Tower, in Lynn, Massachusetts. All 56 units at the Albert Carriere Apartments currently or previously were subject to a Section 8 contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and 180 of the 181 units at Leisure Tower currently or previously were subject to a Section 8 contract with HUD. Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 authorizes HUD to provide housing assistance payments to owners of eligible housing on behalf of low-income tenants; owners and management agents in the program are required to maintain documentation supporting tenant eligibility and the amount of assistance claimed and to comply with applicable HUD requirements.
As part of the settlement agreement, HMR admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility for the following: in preparation for government audits at the two properties in 2015, HMR personnel reviewed tenant files and identified deficiencies in documentation relevant to tenant eligibility for Section 8 assistance and compliance with program requirements. HMR personnel thereafter altered, supplemented, replaced, removed, or created tenant-file documentation without obtaining the affected tenants' review or approval, for the purpose of addressing deficiencies in the files and causing the files to appear complete and compliant for government review. As a result, the tenant files inaccurately reflected the documentation that had existed before the alterations. Certain HMR managers and compliance personnel were aware of, directed, or participated in this conduct. The conduct resulted in false or materially misleading statements and records concerning tenant eligibility and Section 8 compliance that were submitted to, or maintained by HMR for submission to, HUD, and those statements and records were material to HUD's determination of whether housing assistance payments were payable.
Sarcone said HMR's personnel altered and created tenant-file records that caused claims for housing assistance to contain materially false or misleading representations, and that the Section 8 program depends on accurate information about tenant eligibility and compliance; he commended HMR for accepting responsibility, cooperating with the government's investigation, and taking steps to address the conduct and prevent its recurrence. Shawn A. Rice, Special Agent in Charge of the HUD Office of Inspector General, said HMR's manipulation of tenant-file documentation undermined the accountability the programs rely on to serve families in need, and that HUD OIG will continue to work with law enforcement partners to uncover misconduct and protect federal funds.
This matter arose from a qui tam complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. Under the settlement agreement, the relator will receive $437,500 of the settlement proceeds. The case is docketed under case number 1:23-cv-1179. The investigation and resolution were a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York, the HUD Office of Inspector General, the HUD Office of Program Enforcement and IRS Criminal Investigation. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York)
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国住房和城市发展部（HUD）总部大楼。HUD 官方照片（公共领域）。 / Photo: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters. HUD photo (public domain).
