CHARLOTTE AMALIE — U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General (HUD-OIG) will provide no cost, online training for Virgin Islands federal grantees and law enforcement personnel, July 13-15th.
The three-day training session is designed for HUD Community Development and Block Grant-Disaster Recovery grantees, sub-grantees, contractors and law enforcement agencies.
Following the 2017 hurricanes, HUD allocated nearly $ 2 billion dollars to the Virgin Islands for disaster recovery.
Much of this money has been distributed through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Program, which addresses seriously damaged housing, businesses and infrastructure repairs.
The HUD-OIG sponsored training will highlight HUD’s disaster assistance program requirements and risks, as well as familiarize Virgin Islands’ grant personnel and members of the law enforcement community with issues related to disaster fraud investigations.
The training will include presentations about various HUD programs, common audit findings, and procurement issues.
“Investigation and prosecution of government programs fraud and procurement fraud continue to be priorities of this U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Shappert said. “The people of the Virgin Islands have every right to expect that fraudsters and scam artists will suffer the consequences of their criminal actions. We are grateful that HUD-OIG has agreed to provide this valuable training in the USVI.”
To report suspected fraud in one of HUD’s Disaster Recovery programs, email HUD’s Office of the Inspector General at [email protected], or contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud at 866-720-5721.
Persons interested in participating in the July 13-15, 2020 on-line training should contact HUD-OIG, Special Agent in Charge, Lisa Gore at [email protected]