The administration suspended the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority from federal funding following years of alleged mismanagement and fraud.
The administration announced the suspension of the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (VIHFA) from receiving future federal funding due to significant financial mismanagement and waste. HUD Secretary Scott Turner, a member of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, noted that the agency aims to ensure taxpayer dollars are not squandered by organizations riddled with corruption. The suspension follows a decade of "glacial" progress on disaster recovery projects following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. HUD cited a 2026 audit showing that VIHFA failed to implement a structured fraud prevention framework despite overseeing $1.9 billion in funding. The agency also highlighted the criminal conviction of former COO Darin Richardson, who was sentenced to 36 months in prison for a kickback scheme. Governor Albert Bryan Jr. expressed surprise at the move, calling the suspension an overreach and noting that his administration received no advance warning. While Governor Albert Bryan Jr. acknowledged that the authority has fallen short of expectations, he argued that many deficiencies have been corrected and plans to appeal the decision within 60 days.