CNBC reported on Friday that more than $37 million in monthly housing subsidies for people in need landed in the wrong hands last year, and it’s all because the Department of Housing and Urban Development has not yet figured out how to accurately verify who is eligible for its program.
“If HUD does not strengthen its controls, it will pay at least $448 million over the next year in subsidies for public-housing units occupied by noncompliant tenants that otherwise could house compliant households,” a report by HUD’s Inspector General reads.
The program is intended to provide housing subsidies for low-income people who are trying to get back into the job market and meet the “community service and self-sufficiency requirement,” which is defined as being between the ages of 18 and 62 and logging a minimum of eight hours of community service or job training each month.
Image via flickr/401(K) 2012