HUD suspends funding to U.S. Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority over fraud and mismanagement findings.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended federal funding to the U.S. Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority on July 20, 2026, citing widespread financial mismanagement, fraud, and improper payments found in an ongoing investigation. HUD Secretary Scott Turner said that nine years after the authority received $1.9 billion in disaster recovery funding following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, only $570,000 had been spent on intended projects. The authority's former chief operating officer, Darin Richardson, was sentenced in March 2026 to 36 months in federal prison for a kickback scheme involving a lumber contract.