'Systemic fraud:' HUD secretary condemns $5.8 billion in 'questionable' payments

By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

The Trump administration says it will crack down on housing assistance fraud after a report from the Department of Housing and Human Development flagged billions in potentially fraudulent payments made since fiscal year 2024.

“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 stated in a Monday press release. 

“HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable,” he added.

Out of its $70 billion budget, HUD made nearly $5.8 billion in “questionable” payments, HUD’s analysis found. 

About $1.5 billion of that sum was uncovered in the Tenant Based Rental Assistance program, while $4.3 billion was allocated through the Project Based Rental Assistance — meaning that potentially fraudulent payments made up over 25% of PBRA spending. 

Additionally, after evaluating four million tenant records, more than 200,000 tenants had "eligibility issues.” About $150 million went to 9,472 tenants who had non-conforming Social Security numbers.

Roughly $77 million went to 30,000 deceased tenants, who remained actively enrolled in rental assistance programs or received assistance after they died. 

Irving Dennis, HUD’s Principal Deputy Chief Financial Officer, wrote in the report that he noticed “a deterioration in HUD’s internal controls and governance under the Biden administration.”

“This review revealed a decline in internal controls, poor record keeping, instances where individuals may have exceeded their authority or had conflicting roles, and the removal of an effective governance structure for oversight,” Dennis said.

Although the second Trump administration has made federal spending transparency one of its major focuses, it has also signed off to massive deficit-increasing legislation like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The national debt also jumped twice in 2025, topping $37 trillion in August and $38 trillion only months later. 

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