Why I completely dislike the FEPS program

The FEPS Program

One of my first articles detailed problems with housing programs. It’s amazing that years later that article is still relevant. In that article I expressed problems with the Family Eviction Prevention Subsidy aka The FEPS program. It was formerly called Jiggets.

The problem with the program was not so much the administration of the program. But how easily a program recipient with the help of a caseworker gamed the program.

The Setup

We’ll call her Mrs. D. She came to me responding to an apartment ad. Mrs. D had the FEPs program and needed to move because “the owner wanted the apartment for a family member”.

After going through the usual process of background checks, credit report etc. Mrs. D was rented the apartment. This was when the problems started.

The Payoff

Mrs. D presented three sets of checks. One set was from the city. It covered the broker’s fee. Part of the 1^st month rent and the security. The next set covered another 3^rd of the rent and part of the security. This set had the FEPS location on it indicating it was issued by the program. The 3^rd set was from Mrs. D, it was her portion of the rent. Because she worked Mrs. D had to pay a portion of the rent.

The Problem

All seemed okay except that two of the check had the wrong amounts. These were the ones that had the FEPS location on them. The problem, the amount of money FEPs paid to the owner. It was incorrect.

Had Mrs D and her co-conspirator not made this mistake it would have been months before we would have caught it. This was because of the rent payment schedule that FEPS uses.

1^st Conversation

Calls to the caseworker were useless. She either had an excuse for the wrong amounts on the checks or was not available. Finally, it was time to talk to the manager.

2^nd Conversation

A few days later I reached the manager. I called the facility directly and avoided going through the caseworker. The caseworker was out that day but the manager was able to obtain the case file.

The manager went through a step by step of how the program works. This was different than what we were told.

The manager informed me that FEPs does not pay security. And the rent amount requested made the apartment ineligible for the program.

The manager also informed me that the apartment had been inspected. There was also a note that stated we were told that the rent amount had to be lowered. Problem was we never had an inspection and never received notice about the rent.

Falsified Lease

The manager then stated that the file contained a signed copy of the lease. This lease had a lower rent amount. I requested she fax the lease to me, she complied.

A review of the lease showed that it was a forgery. Names forged and rental amount lowered. The lease not in my handwriting. Lastly, I always witness my leases. There was no witness on this lease.

The final conversation

I faxed the original lease to the manager and she saw for herself the difference. Somehow the manager located the lease I had originally submitted. I believe it was at this time that she recognized the handwriting on the forged lease. Not to long after all communication ended and FEPS was no longer cooperating.

The Midnight Move

This is a legal matter going on 4 years. Mrs. D "midnight moved" out of the apartment leaving her twenty year old son. The owner found him sitting in the empty apartment. No food, no furniture and no money.

The owner asked him what had happened. He explained that his mother had abandoned him. He asked to use the owner’s cell phone to call his grandmother. The owner called the grandmother and informed her of what had happened. The grandmother said that her grandson was welcomed in her home. All that was needed was a way to get him there. The owner made arrangements for him to go to his grandmother.

Why she gets away with it

Before he left the son told the owner his mother had been doing this for a long time. The family had been in various programs and always moving when the scam fell apart.

In each case the owner’s never prosecuted and the program did nothing. This was the reason why Mrs. D record was clean.

He also informed us that the owner lied about needing the apartment for a family member. Mrs. D owed more than six months back rent. Instead of taking her to court he just wanted her to leave the apartment. This was his way of pushing his problem onto someone else.

The son gave us a lead to his mother new job but we missed her. She quit her job and was in the wind. We are still looking for her.

What is FEPS involvement in this?

So what does all this have to do with FEPS? Plenty.

• The FEPS caseworker supplied the information on Mrs. D. and incorrectly explained the program.
• She lied about the rental amount allowed by the program.
• She lied about the amount that Mrs. D was to pay towards the rent.
  • Because of this we believed that Mrs. D would receive enough support from FEPS to cover the rent.
• FEPS refused to assist in the eviction despite the fact that the tenant used their name to pull off the scam.

The managers response

After the manager told me about the rent limit I asked why didn’t the caseworker reject the apartment. The manager had no answer.

When asked why the caseworker misled us about the allowable rent for the apartment. Again the manager had no answer.

Somehow the manager located the original lease I submitted. When questioned how the caseworker had two leases, the manager had no answer.

Lastly, I faxed a copy of four checks that had the address of that FEPS location on them. I asked if these were checks from her location. Her reply no checks are issued from that location. When asked why do these checks have their address, again she had no answer.

Change in cooperation

It is at this time that the manager changes the tone of her voice and the conversation. She had indicated in our previous conversation that the desk of the caseworker was close by. Becoming very proper she stated that the program would not help in this matter. I was instructed to

return any city checks because the rental was illegal.

She even hinted that my office had tried to scam the city. If I were scamming the city why would I dig so deep into why the owner’s check were wrong.

Did I not open her eyes to the fact that something was wrong in her department? Obviously, the manager was beginning to cover her ass.

In stating that FEPS would not assist in the removal of the tenant. The manager stated that their purpose was to prevent evictions. When I asked if that applied even in this case; she requested that I not call her anymore.

I returned the checks and forwarded all information onto the owner’s lawyer.

Some Conclusions

1. The caseworker assisted Mrs. D in falsely qualifying for the apartment.
2. The caseworker submitted false information to FEPS showing a lower rent than requested.
   1. This allowed the rental to move forward. Normally FEPS would not agree to the rental amount.
3. It is speculation to assume that the caseworker instructed Mrs. D on how to address the checks. someone knew how to do this.
   1. 1. Mrs. D have never been a FEPS client before. Therefore, there is only way she would have known to include the FEPS address on the checks. Someone coached her. That someone knew this would give the checks an appearance of validity. This coaching probably came from the caseworker.
4. The manager upon seeing the checks must have realized that the program had been compromised from within.
5. I will no longer recommend the FEPS program to any client.

The lack of cooperation once the manager realized one of her workers had compromised the program cannot be excused. Instead of assisting in evicting Mrs. D and prosecuting the caseworker she did nothing. There is no doubt that this matter–if addressed at all– was handled in house and quietly.

It would take almost a year before Mrs. D moved out. During that time Mrs. D paid no rent. She owes the owner over twenty seven thousand dollars (27, 000.00). She cost the owner lawyer fees. And most importantly she cost me my commission fee.

Whenever an owner asks about the FEPS program I tell them this story and let them decide for themselves. To date, I refer owners who want to participate in FEPS to another broker. Fortunately, I have not had anyone who has a FEPS voucher approach me. I would not refuse the voucher but I prefer never to deal with the program again.