Housing and Urban Development officials have accused struggling Montebello of numerous violations, including giving affordable housing grants directly to individuals rather than through approved entities and failing to determine whether those who got the grants were truly needy.
One homeowner who applied for funds meant to allow low-income households to fix up their homes admitted owning four pieces of property in Hawaii. But the city did not take those assets into account when determining the applicant's eligibility.
One homeowner who applied for funds meant to allow low-income households to fix up their homes admitted owning four pieces of property in Hawaii. But the city did not take those assets into account when determining the applicant's eligibility.
Those accusations were among 31"serious regulatory violations" HUD notified the city of in a letter obtained Friday by The Times. HUD warned Montebello officials that they needed to "take immediate action to correct existing program deficiencies" and "radically rethink" their "approach to program administration."
HUD has already informed officials that they may have to pay back up to $5 million in questionable spending and has taken the highly unusual step of suspending funding to the city until it can provide more documentation of its use of federal dollars.
The letter, however, goes a step further by citing specific examples of wrongdoing.
It's another blow for a city that is facing possible insolvency later this year and is the subject of several outside probes.
HUD has already informed officials that they may have to pay back up to $5 million in questionable spending and has taken the highly unusual step of suspending funding to the city until it can provide more documentation of its use of federal dollars.
The letter, however, goes a step further by citing specific examples of wrongdoing.
It's another blow for a city that is facing possible insolvency later this year and is the subject of several outside probes.
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