Billions in mortgage aid go through questionable nonprofit

A Congress-appointed nonprofit aimed at delivering mortgage relief to Americans is accused of awarding multimillion-dollar contracts to insiders and fudging documents.

A recent Bloomberg article sheds light on NeighborWorks America, a Congress-appointed nonprofit aimed at delivering mortgage relief to Americans hurt in the financial crisis, and the group isn’t what it appears.

“A close look at the group reveals a house in disorder -- with sweetheart contracts, document fudging and unexplained departures of top officials,” according to Bloomberg.

NeighborWorks America has awarded at least two large jobs to insiders without bidding and executives have signed off on a multimillion-dollar technology deal to a recently formed contractor that included board members in common with the nonprofit. One of the audits stated the contractor overcharged by as much as 20 times, according to the media outlet.

In February during roughly two-hour long congressional hearing,  Republicans repeatedly suggested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was illegally funneling money to activist groups using sham transactions embedded in legal settlements with two big banks.

As part of the settlement agreements over the 2008 financial crisis, the DOJ required banks to donate millions of dollars to mortgage relief groups that Republicans said have gone unfairly to left-leaning groups.