The Nation : $1 Billion in HUD Overcharges Reported

Overcharges to the government of up to $1 billion were made by private developers and mortgage companies participating in one Department of Housing and Urban Development program for low-income housing, a Dallas newspaper reported. The Dallas Morning News said in a copyrighted story that private investors, including the current U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, hid the overcharges through duplicate billings, inflated labor costs and work for unauthorized items. Among those who benefited from HUD programs, the newspaper quoted investigators as saying, were Philip Winn, a former HUD assistant secretary and now the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, and partner Philip Abrams, a former HUD undersecretary. The two received seven federal renovation contracts valued at $133.6 million that were found to contain $9.7 million in overcharges, auditors said, according to the newspaper.