Thanks Iron Munro:
Posted on 05/04/2019 8:48:11 AM PDT by jazusamo
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?
Socialism-the ultimate 1% system.
Things get ugly when the 99%, who think they wil be that 1% living large, find out that they won't be, and instead live in poverty and misery like the rest of the duped, who voted it (Socialism) in.
The price tag for the Wall Street bailout is popularly put at $787 billion—---the actual size of TARP--the Troubled Assets Relief Program. But TARP is just the best known program in an array of more than 30 overseen by Treasury Department and Federal Reserve that have paid out or put aside untraceable money to bail out financial firms and inject money into the markets.
To get a sense of the size of the real $14 trillion bailout, see MJ chart at web site. A guide to the pieces of the puzzle includes massive untraceable Treasury Department bailout programs.
Money Market Mutual Fund: In September 2008, the Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel announced that it would insure the holdings of publicly offered money market mutual funds. According to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), these guarantees could have potentially cost the federal government more than $3 trillion [PDF].
Public-Private Investment Fund: This joint Treasury-Federal Reserve program bought toxic assets from banks and brokerages—as much as $5 billion of assets per firm. According to SIGTARP, the government's potential exposure from the PPIF is between $500 million and $1 trillion [PDF].
TARP: As part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel made loans to or investments more than 750 banks and financial institutions. $650 billion has been paid out (not including HAMP; see below). As of December 21, 2009, $117.5 billion of that has been repaid.
Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) stock purchase: The Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel bought $200 million in preferred stock from Fannie Mae and another $200 million from Freddie Mac [PDF] to show that they "will remain viable entities critical to the functioning of the housing and mortgage markets."
GSE mortgage-backed securities purchase: Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the Treasury controlled by Obama/Emanuel may buy mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to SIGTARP, these purchases could cost as much as $314 billion ---SNIP---.
LONG READ---go to web site to read more and checkout the shocking financial charts.
SOURCE http://motherjones.com/politics/2009/12/behind-real-size-bailout
I am a struggling homeowner!
Where do I sign up for my luxery cars, booze parties and vacations. It will not pay my mortgage, but ...
BUILD THE WALL!!! There’s plenty of money.
That’s what leftists do. They lie, cheat and steal. Look at Maduro. Look at Castro. Look at Hillary. Look at Bernie. See a pattern? In it for themselves, not the masses as they claim.
Grifters gotta grift
“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)”
The state was sued because they kept the money to fill holes in the budget. Though the Court ruled against the state, the money is still being held by the state. No money has gone to benefit the intended recipients.
Bkmrk. TARP Fraud
Liz, you do a fabulous job. Thank you.
Liz is quite AMAZING to bad the journalists in this country aren’t as talented or smart as Liz we are VERY BLESSED we have her here!!! I have been beyond educated of the facts by Liz!!!
Thanks for this, and the tip about the Charles Gasparino book.
Y/V/W.
Yep. Obama was the single most successful mole to ever infiltrate the U.S. government.
Arrest the scofflaws and seize their ill-gotten assets. Who are the unpatriotic criminals? let’s see names.
Sounds like Biden & Obama are in the Madoff blood line.
Thanks Iron Munro:
Thanks jazusamo.
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