Special Agent for the Office of Inspector General for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Essay Example

The Special Agent for the Office of Inspector General for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Introduction The various agencies of theUnited States government are tasked to implement goals of the government from the federal to the local level. Prior to the creation of these agencies, governing rules and regulations are in place to guide the bodies respectively with the common intention to uphold the rights and privileges of the United States citizens. However, it is also the role of the government to protect its agencies and programs in order to make them sustainable and useful for the people. The growth and increase of staff and employees of bureaucracies makes agencies prone to small as well as large-scale fraudulent activities from the seemingly innocent loss of office supplies to massive questionable contracts that are too obvious to keep away public attention. Thus, the creation of monitoring bodies that aside the main cabinets with its officials and employees, secondary agencies like shadows were also put in place to check and balance the activities of these agencies whether these were in the benefit of the government and the public it serves, or otherwise. This paper will outline the tasks of the Special Agent for the Office of Inspector General for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The HUD and OIG The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD is a Cabinet department under the Executive branch created to address the rapid urbanization and the development of housing and community (HUD, P 1). The Office of the Inspector General or OIG was created by the Congress in 1978 as an independent unit tasked at supervising of audit and investigation of HUD programs and operations. The OIG has four distinct organizations with their own authorities and responsibilities. These are the Office of the Audit, Office of Investigation, Office of Management and Policy, and Office of the Legal Counsel. However, it should be noted that there are about 73 Federal OIGs in all of the United States since 1978 and their agents or employees are basically hired to prevent waste, fraud, abuse as well as mismanagement of government programs and operations within their operating agency (HUD, P 2). As staff of the OIG, the various assignments and exposures can be expected. Their website indicated opportunities for Special Agent, Auditor, Internship or Others. The Special Agent The special agent is one of the OIG staff and expected to be instrumental in the implementation of HUD policy and programs, minimize fraud, waste and abuse in the HUD’s programs, activities and functions (HUD 2, P 1). They “are authorized to carry firearms, conduct investigations, make arrests, execute search and arrest warrants, and conduct law enforcement activities in connection with the enforcement and administration of all laws, regulations, orders, contracts, and programs in which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is or may be a party of interest” (HUD 2, P 1). The requirements must be met in order to become a Special Agent and these include U.S. citizenship, completion of background investigation, credit check, as well as pre-employment examination. New applicants to law enforcement are also required to be at least 21 years old but not older than 37 years old. They must have a valid driver’s license, completed the Basic Criminal Investigator Training Course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, or the equivalent from accredited law enforcement academies. It is also important that aspirants be qualified to carry firearms, meaning, they must be free of any conviction including domestic violence. They must also meet requirements in physical, mental, and emotional standards for the ability to perform law enforcement tasks. In addition to these, they must be willing to be relocated for assignments, prepared to work with irregular schedules, and prepared to take personal risks related to their job (HUD 2, P 2). These are just initial requirements. Employment as special agent of the HUD requires an evaluation of quality of education and work experience: the minimum employment or GS-5 requires bachelor’s degree from accredited colleges or universities, three years of general work experience; one full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement or one year of specialized work experience for GS-7, and higher requirement for GS-9, GS-11, and GS-12 (HUD 2, P2-3).. The agent may use legal and lawful techniques during investigation including interviews, surveillance, search warrants, subpoenas, electronic monitoring, or other means. They may also work with other federal, state, or local enforcement agencies and OIG auditors. They may investigate cases of bid rigging, bribery, fraud, computer related crimes, conflicts of interest, and other abuses of the HUD programs. They may seek assistance and cooperation from about 11 District Offices and 34 Duty Stations scattered in the US. There are two kinds of investigations undertaken by agents: internal which involves government employees or officials, and external which targets grant recipients, contractors, as well as beneficiaries of various loans and subsidies provided through the various federal offices both domestic and foreign. The Special Agent investigates suspected violations of criminal statutes. One of these includes the 18 USC 1012 - Sec. 1012 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development transactions, U.S. Code - Title 18: Crimes and Criminal Procedure. It provides that anybody with the intention to defraud, make any false entry in any book of the Department of Housing and Urban Development is considered suspect. Others who may be subject of the OIG’s special agent are those who receive compensation, rebate or reward or any other action that defeats the purpose of the Department, that is, to provide benefits for the US government. The statute also specifies that “Whoever induces or influences such Department to purchase or acquire any property or to enter into any contract and willfully fails to disclose any interest which he has in such property or in the property to which such contract relates, or any special benefit which he expects to receive as a result of such contract - Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both,” (Vlex, P 1) In addition, the 18 USC 1010 - Sec. 1010, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Housing Administration transactions of the U.S. Code - Title 18: Crimes and Criminal Procedure prohibits any false representation, publication, uttering, and any form of expression for purposes of loan, advance of credit from any person, partnership, association or corporation pertaining to any offer or acceptance by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. These acts includes alterations, forgeries, counterfeits, any instruments, documents, or overvaluing of security, asset, incomes, and other means (Vlex 2, P 1). Like any other US government agency, the HUD is not free from criticism. It had been accused as the worst landlord by the Village Voice (Bachhuber and Smith, P1) for the decrepit condition of housing acquired through the HUD 203 (k) program, eviction, and other abuses or mismanagement. The problem has been traced from the 1990s exploitation of the 203 (k) program when speculators were said to have defrauded the government of about $200 million in New York and it was only made known to the public after the City Limits expose (Bachhubber and Smith, P7). The HUD admitted to have a program prone to risk, refinance schemes, overstated appraisals, and excessive fees (Bachhuber and Smith, P 9). The HUD’s and other OIG relevance were justified through their return of investment reports to the Congress. An example of this kind of report is illustrated below with the cost of operations against the captured incomes: Source: HUD 3, 4. The Special Agent of the HUD OIG, therefore, are tasked to maximize incomes from the HUD projects through its programs as well as recoup whatever may have been lost due to illegal means as provided for by the statutes, including violations of programs and other initiatives of the Department. They are tasked and mandated to uphold the HUD goals of providing affordable housing to the urban areas as well as address homelessness as administered by the Community Planning and Development. They monitor and work closely with affiliate agencies that implement related programs such as the Community Development Block Grants, Shelter Plus Care, Emergency Shelter Grants, and other agencies that are in cooperation with the HUD (HUD, P 5). In addition to the agency officers and employees, they also monitor the activities of partners or private entities that deal with clients or beneficiaries, the beneficiaries and applicants for housing loans or grants, and other entities that have anything to do with HUD and its affiliate agencies. The goals of the agents are to help implement the goals of the HUD and maximize incomes for the federal government. It is therefore important for the OIG and its Special Agents to present plausible and solved cases with regards to all kinds of fraud and short-changing by those who transact with, for and by the HUD including expose and questionable transactions by the public or whomever may be whistle-blowing. Word= 1502 Works Cited: Bachhubber, Jay and Samara Smith. HUD. The No.1 worst in the United States. June 27, 2006. Accessed May 2011 from http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-06-27/nyc-life/hud/ HUD. OIG Career Opportunities. Accessed May 2011 from http://www.hudoig.gov/jobs/index.php HUD 2. Special Agent Employment. Accessed May 2011 from http://www.hud.gov/offices/oig/careers/specialagent.cfm HUD 3. Semiannual Report to Congress. US Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2005. Accessed from http://www.hudoig.gov/pdf/sar/sar53.pdf Vlex. 18 USC 1012 - Sec. 1012. Department of Housing and Urban Development transactions. Accessed May 2011 from http://vlex.com/vid/department-housing-urban-transactions-19190781#ixzz1MHuKrB8Q 2011 Vlex 2. 18 USC 1010 - Sec. 1010, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Housing Administration. Accessed May 2011 from Read More