Federal Reports

We selected the State of California’s 2018 disaster owner-occupied rehabilitation and reconstruction program to audit after an internal risk assessment of disaster grantees showed the grant was newer and had not yet disbursed the majority of its funding. The State received more than $1 billion for the 2018 disasters. Our audit objective was to determine what the State is considering and to what extent resilience-based mitigation efforts help homeowners to withstand potential future disasters, along with how the State is prioritizing its efforts in the program to assist qualified low-to-moderate-income beneficiaries. The State’s owner-occupied rehabilitation and reconstruction program generally planned for resilience-based mitigation efforts and prioritized its efforts to assist qualified low-to-moderate-income beneficiaries. The State faced some challenges, such as verifying structure type and size and assessing ownership and primary residency, in implementing this program due to it being one of the first housing rehabilitation and reconstruction programs addressing a wildfire disaster. The State’s efforts to adjust its program and requirements as it encountered challenges indicate its willingness to address exceptions when known. We recommended that the State should ensure that it has proper documentation for compliance with building standards and ownership and primary residence determinations.

Our objective was to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the Surface Transfer Centers in the Western Pacific Region. To accomplish our objective, we reviewed key performance indicators associated with the transfer centers and conducted site visits at the transfer centers in Southern California, Northern California, and Salt Lake City.

Our objective was to evaluate the Postal Service’s performance during the FY 2023 peak mailing season and the implementation of its peak season preparedness plan. We also conducted fieldwork at the Athens S&DC and the Brooklyn PDC to determine if the new facilities had an impact on peak season operations.

We investigated allegations that a retired USPP Sergeant violated ethics regulations by seeking employment with a company while overseeing its work.

Keith Kovaleski, a former Amtrak Assistant Foreman, based in New York, was sentenced to 10 months’ home confinement in U.S District Court, District of New Jersey, on July 12, 2023, for marketing and distributing over $3 million worth of misbranded and unapproved new drugs. On July 11, 2023, his spouse, Sylvia Kovaleski, was also sentenced for her involvement in the scheme to 3 years’ probation. The couple was ordered to forfeit over $3 million as restitution. They pleaded guilty to the charges in March 2022.