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HUD Raids Section 8 Tenants- Detailed Report
Below Is A Recent Report That Came In Which Offers Some Details About Raids Being Conducted By HUD Against The Section 8 Tenants.
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MEETING WITH HUD – OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
August 2, 2004
Met with Herschell Harvell – Assistant Special Agent in Charge, LA Office
Kathleen Hatcher – Special Agent, LA Office
The LA office has 22 agents and 3 managers
Agents started off by stating, that the raids are a component of the Bush “Management Agenda” to reduce waste, fraud and abuse. There is $1 billion in admin waste by agencies and $1 billion through fraud with tenants, landlords and housing authorities. The goal of HUD is to cut Section-8 vouchers in half.
In some states there is a system of matching tenant’s wages with what they report on their Section-8 applications; California does not have this wage matching system. According to HUD, this leaves HUD in a bind as to finding out the “true” wages of tenants.
Cities where “compliance enforcement” has been done are: South Gate, Hawaiian Gardens, Paramount, Long Beach, Los Angeles, unincorporated LA, Lancaster, San Dimas, Compton, Pacoima, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Hawthorne, Santa Ana, and Covina (may not be a complete list).
24 tenant visits in each city - South Gate, Paramount, and Hawaiian Gardens have been conducted.
“Compliance enforcement” is done using a taskforce of personnel from law enforcement, city housing authority staff, code enforcement, social workers, and HUD agents – approximately seven people at or near the door when the HUD agents “ask” to come into the residence.
City council members and city managers ARE NOT BEING NOTIFIED that city staff are being used in inspections. HUD agents said, they do not have to notify, and city housing authority staff are “volunteering” to go along.
The HUD Agent will say, “I’m here to do a rental compliance visit…do you mind if I come in.”
The tenants whose residents are being entered are put on a list through “investigative leads” through law enforcement, neighboring tenants, and landlords.
Hawaiian Gardens inspections consisted of:
24 visits
6 arrests
5 appeals were upheld – repayment will be made
4 terminations – still in question - being appealed
7 terminated from Section-8
Several tenants children where relocated with child protective services
A pipebomb was found in one residence
Several of the visits were done with a warrant (# not given)
1 landlord violation (usually low number of landlord violations – usually 5-10)
About 10% or less of residents do not let the taskforce into their homes.
According to HUD, this protocol has been upheld with immigration officers coming into homes without a warrant. HUD protocol specifically has not been legally challenged.
The HUD agents are looking for egregious violations and “almost every Section-8 resident has a violation,” in some way or another, according to Agent Harvell.
BACKGROUND
Leonard Chaidez, Mayor-Pro-Tem of Hawaiian Gardens, called in a city/personal complaint to the district office and talked to Patrick R. on Thursday, 26 August 2004.
Situation: Section 8 Housing residents have been raided in their homes (over a dozen) early in the morning (6:00AM) by Special Investigators with HUD, plus Sheriff's Dept personnel, and Hawaiian Gardens city staff are being asked to go along with the raids.
According to Chaidez, section 8 housing residents must be given notice and the city staff must set the appointment at a reasonable hour, which is set in HUD policy and regulations.
The raids consist of HUD special investigators (one agent being Anthony Meeks) and Lakewood Sheriff's Department personnel going to a section 8 home with a Hawaiian Gardens city employee. The city employee knocks on the door and says, "I'm here to do an inspection." The sheriff's dept and the special investigator are in sight behind the city employee. After entry into the home, they ask residents for ID and search for any illegal activity (drug, etc.). They have arrested____ occupants during these raids...many have been released due to lack of evidence.
Chaidez relayed to the special agent that these raids are inconsistent with HUD policy of setting an appointment and coming at a reasonable hour, not to mention Fourth Amendment rights dealing with unreasonable searches and seizures, and the fact the investigators have not had warrants to enter the homes because there was no probable cause.
Because of these facts, the City of Hawaiian Gardens has sent a letter to the special investigator from city attorneys saying that the city will no longer be participating in any further raids (at one point during these raids the special investigator or the Sheriff's Dept told a city employee to put on a bullet proof vest during the raids).
Chaidez also said that these raids have occurred in Bellflower, Paramount and Long Beach.
Chaidez is sending our district office the letter from city attorneys to HUD investigators and the code referred to in the letter stating proper inspection procedures.
12 residents have challenged thier ruling, 12 residents have won their ruling.
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MEETING WITH HUD – OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
August 2, 2004
Met with Herschell Harvell – Assistant Special Agent in Charge, LA Office
Kathleen Hatcher – Special Agent, LA Office
The LA office has 22 agents and 3 managers
Agents started off by stating, that the raids are a component of the Bush “Management Agenda” to reduce waste, fraud and abuse. There is $1 billion in admin waste by agencies and $1 billion through fraud with tenants, landlords and housing authorities. The goal of HUD is to cut Section-8 vouchers in half.
In some states there is a system of matching tenant’s wages with what they report on their Section-8 applications; California does not have this wage matching system. According to HUD, this leaves HUD in a bind as to finding out the “true” wages of tenants.
Cities where “compliance enforcement” has been done are: South Gate, Hawaiian Gardens, Paramount, Long Beach, Los Angeles, unincorporated LA, Lancaster, San Dimas, Compton, Pacoima, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Hawthorne, Santa Ana, and Covina (may not be a complete list).
24 tenant visits in each city - South Gate, Paramount, and Hawaiian Gardens have been conducted.
“Compliance enforcement” is done using a taskforce of personnel from law enforcement, city housing authority staff, code enforcement, social workers, and HUD agents – approximately seven people at or near the door when the HUD agents “ask” to come into the residence.
City council members and city managers ARE NOT BEING NOTIFIED that city staff are being used in inspections. HUD agents said, they do not have to notify, and city housing authority staff are “volunteering” to go along.
The HUD Agent will say, “I’m here to do a rental compliance visit…do you mind if I come in.”
The tenants whose residents are being entered are put on a list through “investigative leads” through law enforcement, neighboring tenants, and landlords.
Hawaiian Gardens inspections consisted of:
24 visits
6 arrests
5 appeals were upheld – repayment will be made
4 terminations – still in question - being appealed
7 terminated from Section-8
Several tenants children where relocated with child protective services
A pipebomb was found in one residence
Several of the visits were done with a warrant (# not given)
1 landlord violation (usually low number of landlord violations – usually 5-10)
About 10% or less of residents do not let the taskforce into their homes.
According to HUD, this protocol has been upheld with immigration officers coming into homes without a warrant. HUD protocol specifically has not been legally challenged.
The HUD agents are looking for egregious violations and “almost every Section-8 resident has a violation,” in some way or another, according to Agent Harvell.
BACKGROUND
Leonard Chaidez, Mayor-Pro-Tem of Hawaiian Gardens, called in a city/personal complaint to the district office and talked to Patrick R. on Thursday, 26 August 2004.
Situation: Section 8 Housing residents have been raided in their homes (over a dozen) early in the morning (6:00AM) by Special Investigators with HUD, plus Sheriff's Dept personnel, and Hawaiian Gardens city staff are being asked to go along with the raids.
According to Chaidez, section 8 housing residents must be given notice and the city staff must set the appointment at a reasonable hour, which is set in HUD policy and regulations.
The raids consist of HUD special investigators (one agent being Anthony Meeks) and Lakewood Sheriff's Department personnel going to a section 8 home with a Hawaiian Gardens city employee. The city employee knocks on the door and says, "I'm here to do an inspection." The sheriff's dept and the special investigator are in sight behind the city employee. After entry into the home, they ask residents for ID and search for any illegal activity (drug, etc.). They have arrested____ occupants during these raids...many have been released due to lack of evidence.
Chaidez relayed to the special agent that these raids are inconsistent with HUD policy of setting an appointment and coming at a reasonable hour, not to mention Fourth Amendment rights dealing with unreasonable searches and seizures, and the fact the investigators have not had warrants to enter the homes because there was no probable cause.
Because of these facts, the City of Hawaiian Gardens has sent a letter to the special investigator from city attorneys saying that the city will no longer be participating in any further raids (at one point during these raids the special investigator or the Sheriff's Dept told a city employee to put on a bullet proof vest during the raids).
Chaidez also said that these raids have occurred in Bellflower, Paramount and Long Beach.
Chaidez is sending our district office the letter from city attorneys to HUD investigators and the code referred to in the letter stating proper inspection procedures.
12 residents have challenged thier ruling, 12 residents have won their ruling.
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Comments
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This looks like a congressional staffers notes. Is this news? It appeears as though the writer is boased by means of the convenient use of quotation marks and emphasis. I can see how easy it is to take some remarks out of context.
I'm glad that somebody is trying to save money from fraud, waste and abose. If people cant follow the rules of section 8 than that money should go to needy people who can.
I'm glad that somebody is trying to save money from fraud, waste and abose. If people cant follow the rules of section 8 than that money should go to needy people who can.
It is obvious the fraud that is being comitted by dishonest tenants, but lets not forget the greed of landlords capitalizing on the system. And the willingness of the Section 8 Program to gratify those landlords. But one, must also, look with retrospection, at employee's, and waste within the program itself. "One need look, no further, than ones, own backyard!" There is plenty greed, and fraudulent behavior that the Section 8 Program, and Mr. Bush are both guilty of ! Who will point the "finger" at either of those?
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