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Among those recipients were roughly 30,000 deceased individuals who continued to receive rental assistance payments long after their deaths.
The audit paints a picture of a federal agency operating with little to no meaningful oversight.
Out of nearly $50 billion in rental assistance distributed during fiscal year 2024, approximately 11 percent went to recipients who were either dead, ineligible non citizens, or receiving amounts beyond allowable limits.
Additional findings showed 9,472 payments went to non citizens who were not eligible for the assistance program, while 165,393 tenants received payments exceeding regional income thresholds.
These numbers were not isolated anomalies.
They represented systemic failure.
Democrat Run States Saw the Worst Abuse
HUD officials confirmed that a large share of the questionable payments flowed to Democrat controlled states, with New York, California, and Washington D.C. accounting for a significant portion of the flagged funds.
However, deceased recipients were identified in all 50 states, underscoring how deeply the problem spread nationwide.
This was not a localized administrative error.
It was a national breakdown.
Trump HUD Secretary Blames Biden Era Policies
Current HUD Secretary Scott Turner issued a blistering assessment of what his department uncovered after taking office.
“A massive abuse of taxpayer dollars not only occurred under President Biden’s watch, but was effectively incentivized by his administration’s failure to implement strong financial controls resulting in billions worth of potential improper payments,” Turner said in a statement.
The audit directly attributed the problem to Biden administration directives that emphasized rapid distribution of funds over accountability.
According to the report, HUD was ordered to push money out the door with minimal oversight, leaving the department without even basic tools to verify whether recipients were eligible.
The programs relied heavily on non federal entities, placing what the audit described as “substantial trust and responsibility” in outside organizations without proper safeguards.
Fraud Went Undetected Until Automated Reviews
HUD officials eventually uncovered the improper payments by running automated comparisons between Treasury Department databases and HUD’s internal records.
The fact that these issues were not discovered earlier raises serious questions about why routine financial reviews were not conducted while Biden political appointees controlled the agency.
Between October 2023 and September 2024, HUD spent $33 billion on tenant based rental assistance serving more than four million households, along with another $16 billion on project based assistance.
More than 200,000 tenants were flagged for eligibility issues during the audit process.
Pattern of Waste and Corruption at HUD
This latest discovery adds to a growing list of Biden era problems at HUD.
Secretary Turner previously announced the recovery of $1.9 billion in funds that had been set aside for financial services but were ultimately unnecessary.
He also terminated $4 million in diversity equity and inclusion contracts tied to what HUD described as culture transformation and outward mindset training.
The corruption extended beyond accounting failures.
In February 2024, federal prosecutors charged 70 current and former New York City Housing Authority employees in a sweeping bribery case involving kickbacks and no bid contracts.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams called the bust involving $2 million in corrupt payments and $13 million in no bid contracts “the largest single day bribery takedown in the history of the Justice Department.”
Despite known risks, NYCHA received $3.86 billion in HUD funding in 2023.
Criminal Referrals Now Possible
HUD officials say the department is now reviewing whether criminal fraud occurred and whether funding should be paused or revoked from entities that received questionable payments.
The agency confirmed that criminal referrals will be made once investigations are complete.
The contrast between administrations is already becoming clear.
Under President Trump’s second term, HUD launched a DOGE Task Force that identified $260 million in savings within weeks.
Under Biden, billions flowed to dead people and ineligible recipients while American families struggled with inflation and soaring housing costs.
This was not an accident.
It was the result of policy decisions.
Biden ordered agencies to prioritize speed over accountability, and taxpayers are now paying the price.
