Obama Program to Help Struggling Homeowners Blows Millions on Parties, Cars, Booze, Luxury Travel

Years after a scathing federal audit exposed rampant waste in a multi-billion-dollar government program to help the “unemployed or underemployed” pay their mortgage, the gouging continues full throttle. Public officials who operate the disastrous project, known as Hardest Hit Fund (HHF), have wasted millions of dollars on parties, fancy cars, gifts, extravagant dinners and receptions, gym memberships and luxury travel. Previous investigations have uncovered more than $11 million in wasteful spending at HHF for illegal things such as employee bonuses, lavish shindigs, expensive vehicles and superfluous data storage. The latest enraging figures are documented in a lengthy report to Congress that outlines how HHF continues fleecing American taxpayers.

Obama launched the scandal-plagued program in 2010 to help struggling families negatively impacted by the housing crisis and it operates under the Treasury Department, which does little to oversee it and sits by as federal probes unmask pervasive fraud and corruption. The former commander-in-chief asserted that homeowners in regions with high unemployment needed the government’s help to make their mortgage payment and prevent foreclosure. The government has contributed an astounding $9.6 billion to the cause and the money will be available until the end of 2021. In the Obama administration’s last year, the fund got an additional $2 billion to assist struggling homeowners and communities. “While the housing market has strengthened in recent years, there are still many homeowners and neighborhoods experiencing the negative effects of the financial crisis,” said the Treasury’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Financial Stability when the money was doled out, assuring that the funds would help stabilize local communities and help struggling families avoid foreclosure.

Like a lot of government programs during Obama’s tenure, this one ballooned and kept receiving boatloads of cash with virtually no oversight. It started off as a $1.5 billion initiative focused on the five states with the steepest declines in home prices and grew to a $9.6 billion boondoggle encompassing 19 states and the District of Columbia. The money goes to mortgage payment assistance for unemployed or underemployed homeowners, principal reduction to help homeowners get into more affordable mortgages, and blight elimination and down payment assistance efforts. California has received the biggest chunk of money ($2.3 billion) followed by Florida ($1.1 billion) Ohio ($762 million), Michigan ($761 million) and North Carolina ($707 million). Nevada, which is notorious for mismanaging HHF funds, has received north of $202 million.

The Silver State is prominently featured in the last two corruption probes, including the most recent one conducted by the inspector general of another reckless Treasury gem, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Obama’s catastrophic initiative to rescue the nation’s ailing financial institutions. In its quarterly report to Congress, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) reveals that Nevada’s HHF “wasted $8.2 million on parties, a Mercedes Benz and more.” The state also blew HHF funds on gift cards for employees, bar tabs, flowers, cash bonuses and employee picnics. Georgia mismanaged $18.6 million in HHF funds on similar things, the watchdog found, and other states did the same. This includes prohibited travel, luxury hotels, extravagant dinners and receptions as well as networking events with gifts, a carving station with a uniformed chef and a desert station of cake bites and strawberry shortcake martinis. “Wasted dollars harm taxpayers who fund TARP and consumers intended to receive these dollars,” the watchdog writes.

On a positive note criminal bribery charges were filed against multiple public officials handling HHF money, according to the Treasury watchdog, though it won’t stop the cash from flowing into the famously crooked program’s bloated coffers. Among them are an unnamed city official, land bank official and a contractor in Michigan and Ohio. “This is SIGTARP’s third audit finding waste and unnecessary charges in the HHF,” the latest report states. “Previous SIGTARP audits uncovered more than $11 million in waste and other unnecessary expenses.” When will the madness stop?

.......Obama-era corruption probes included the US Treasury "Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)"......,
Obama’s catastrophic bailout initiative to rescue the nation’s ailing financial institutions.....

Tip of the iceberg, Read on.

CHART--TARP giveaways and political donations received in return:
LEGEND.....Dem Group/Member...Bank....Amount of Donation....Tarp Funds received
DCCC Bank of America $5,000.00 $15,000,000,000.00
DCCC Capital One $25,000.00 $3,555,199,000.00
DCCC Citigroup $22,500.00 $25,000,000,000.00
DCCC Comerica Inc PAC $1,000.00 $2,250,000,000.00
DCCC Goldman Sachs $30,000.00 $10,000,000,000.00
DCCC JP Morgan $30,000.00 $25,000,000,000.00
DCCC Morgan Stanley $15,000.00 $10,000,000,000.00
DCCC PNC $2,500.00 $7,579,200,000.00
DCCC Wells Fargo $30,000.00 $25,000,000,000.00
Nancy Pelosi Bank of America $5,000.00 $15,000,000,000.00
Nancy Pelosi Citigroup $10,000.00 $25,000,000,000.00
Nancy Pelosi Goldman Sachs $20,000.00 $10,000,000,000.00
Nancy Pelosi JP Morgan $22,500.00 $25,000,000,000.00
Nancy Pelosi Morgan Stanley $10,000.00 $10,000,000,000.00
Nancy Pelosi Wells Fargo $10,000.00 $25,000,000,000.00
Steny Hoyer Bank of America $17,500.00 $15,000,000,000.00
Steny Hoyer Capital One $7,500.00 $3,555,199,000.00
Steny Hoyer Citigroup $10,000.00 $25,000,000,000.00
Steny Hoyer First Horizon $250.00 $866,540,000.00
Steny Hoyer Goldman Sachs $10,000.00 $10,000,000,000.00
Steny Hoyer JP Morgan $20,000.00 $25,000,000,000.00
Steny Hoyer KeyCorp $2,000.00 $2,500,000,000.00
Steny Hoyer Merril Lynch $5,000.00 $10,000,000,000.00
Steny Hoyer Morgan Stanley $13,500.00 $10,000,000,000.00
Steny Hoyer SunTrust $500.00 $4,850,000,000.00
Steny Hoyer Wells Fargo $10,000.00 $25,000,000,000.00

The best book on the 2008-9 crisis was “The Sellout,” by Charles Gasparino. He traces several threads:

- How the investment banks (Merrill, Lehman, Bear Stearns) had leveraged themselves into near-death experiences before

- How US government policies virtually forced banks to make low-down payment mortgages to buyers with sub-standard credit, forcing up prices

- How securitization meant these sub-standard loans could be bundled up and sold far and wide (w/ great losses to the buyers)

- How the ratings agencies gave this crap AAA ratings

- How the sales incentives to create mortgage-backed securities led to incredible short term behavior on the part of investment bankers

- How AIG (insurance) screwed up by guaranteeing many of these in Credit Default Swaps....etc, etc, etc.

It took an unholy confluence of events—government policy, investment banker greed, and last, but not least, securitization to create the perfect storm.....and swamped taxpayers w/ billion dollar bailouts.

Missing in Action: Stimulus Sheriff Joe Biden
Michelle Malkin | october 14, 2012 | FR Posted by lowbridge

Remember when Pres Obama bragged about Joe Biden’s fiscal discipline cred in 2009? “...around the White House, we call him the Sheriff,” Obama warned government employees. “Because if you’re misusing taxpayer money, you’ll have to answer to him.”

Fast-forward to 2012. Call in the search teams. Since being appointed the nation’s stimulus spending cop, Sheriff Joe has taken a permanent donut break. He’s AWOL on oversight. In fact, he’s been bubble-wrapped, boxed and kept completely out of sight. The garrulous gaffe machine hasn’t sat down for a national media interview in five months.

The Democrats’ trillion-dollar “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” however, keeps piling up waste, failure, fraud and debt. Who benefited most? Big govt cronies. (Excerpt) Read more at michellemalkin.com ...

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Obama said at the stim bill signing at a special ceremony in Colorado
that VP Biden would be in charge of "keeping track of every penny."

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Offshore Fraudster had links to offshore fund run by VP's relatives
Reuters on Yahoo | 2/23/09 | BY Ajay Kamalakaran

(Reuters) – A fund of offshore hedge funds run by two members of VP Joe Biden's family was marketed exclusively by offshore firms controlled by Texas financier Allen Stanford, charged by regulators with an $8 billion fraud, the Wall Street Journal said.

The Bidens $50 million fund was jointly branded between the Bidens' Paradigm Global Advisors LLC and the offshore Stanford Financial Group entity headquartered in Antigua, and was known as the Paradigm Stanford Capital Management Core Alternative Fund, the paper said. Stanford-related offshore companies marketed the Biden fund to investors and also invested about $2.7 million of their own money in the fund, the paper said, citing a lawyer for Paradigm.

Paradigm Global Advisors is owned through a holding company by the vice president Biden's son, Hunter, and Joe Biden's brother, James, according to the WSJ. Paradigm's attorney, Marc LoPresti, who represents Hunter Biden and James Biden, as well as Paradigm, told the paper he did not know which Stanford entity invested the roughly $2.7 million. (Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

NOTE A lawyer for Hunter Biden and James Biden told reporters the Bidens NEVER met or communicated with Stanford. (/snicker)

Stanford is in jail for 110 years---but the Bidens got off scot-free.

Missing in Action: Stimulus Sheriff Joe Biden

Thanks for that reminder, Liz. I had totally forgotten that! Excellent memory!

OBAMA PUTS BIDEN IN CHARGE OF STIMULUS FUNDS
New York Post
By Clemente Lisi
February 23, 2009 (TEN years ago!!)
The gaffe-prone Joe Biden will now be handling more of your money. President Obama said his vice president would oversee the implementation of the $787 billion economic stimulus package. Obama made the announcement today before the National Governors Association in Washington, saying Biden will not only ensure that the cash is distributed, but make sure it is “also efficient and effective.”
“The fact that I’m asking my vice president to personally lead this effort shows how important it is for our country and future to get this right,” Obama said.
In his new role as stimulus czar, Biden, 66, would meet regularly with congressional lawmakers, governors and mayors to make certain their efforts in reviving the economy are both effective and swift.
During the debate over the stimulus plan, Biden declared there was a “30 percent chance we’re going to get it wrong.” Those comments prompted Obama to later say, “You know, I don’t remember exactly what Joe was referring to, not surprisingly.”

30% chance of getting it wrong? Ha! With those shysters, "getting it wrong" means they weren't going to funnel 75% to their cronies.

Remember Solyndra? All of Obama's "programs for the people" were phony fronts to launder huge amounts of tax dollars for their personal use.

AND THIS:

THE FEDERAL MONEY KEEPS ROLLING IN----The Obama crowd (never expecting to lose in 2016) left a huge paper trail.
Soon as they occupied the WH, Obama placed his COS---Chicago Rahm Emanuel---in control of the US Dept of the Treasury.....
ponder that...... Chicago Rham was Obama's COS AND controlled Treasury.

"Mr President, you are now in complete control of the US Treasury."

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THE SMOKING GUN---WSJ REPORT--On Jan 20, 2009 Timothy Geithner was appointed Obama's Secy of the Treasury. But within three weeks, the Obama White House tightened its grip on Treasury. Obama put his COS, Rahm Emanuel, in charge of Treasury---Rahm Emanuel's dual role was an unusual move. When he got to Treasury, WH COS Rahm Emanuel was so involved in the inner workings that the phrase "Rahm wants it" had become an unofficial mantra among subservient govt staffers, prostrate in obeisance, scurrying to accede to Rahm's wishes, according to Treasury government officials. Reported by WSJ / 05/31/09

More here: PAYWALL-- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124113406528875137.html

SEPT 2016--- officials from the State, Justice and Treasury departments said Obama's $1.3 billion to Iran was paid in cash on Jan. 22 and Feb. 5.

The money came from a little-known fund administered by the Treasury Department for settling litigation claims. The so-called Judgment Fund is taxpayer money Congress has permanently approved in the event it's needed, allowing the president to bypass direct congressional approval to make a settlement.

The U.S. previously paid out $278 million in Iran-related claims by using the fund in 1991. Republicans have decried the payments as ransom, a charge that Obama administration has rejected.....a group of Republican senators announced their support for legislation that would bar payments from the Judgment Fund to Iran until Tehran pays the nearly $55.6 billion that U.S. courts have judged that it owes to American victims of Iranian terrorism.

UPDATE H.J.Ansari Zarif, the deputy for parliamentary and Iranian affairs within Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he would expose "everyone who allegedly accepted bribes" to facilitate Obama's nuke deal with Iran. "... we will reveal which western politicians received monies during nuclear negotiations to make #IranDeal happen,” Mr. Zarif reportedly said. NOTE: Mr Zarif is the FIL of John Kerry' daughter.

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CONCLUSION Looks like Obama and his crowd got filthy rich on this deal. In case you wondered how the Halfrican intended to pay for his billion dollar final resting place dedicated to the Sun God….”Obama’s "presidential center." NOTE: Obama said no federal funds will be used......just tax dollars with an Iranian postmark.

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