In a damning 49-page report issued early this morning, the Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General laid bare its findings on inspections of government-sanctioned real estate auctions. The report confirmed there was “validity to the allegations of questionable bidding practices and a lack of compliance with statutory regulations governing real property auctions conducted by the Lt. Governor’s Office.”
The categories of unscrupulous practices were many, specifically that “as a result of procedural changes made in real property auctions by officials at the Lieutenant Governor’s Office:
- (a) individuals were allowed to manipulate the bidding process, to fraudulently restrict other potential individuals from making legitimate bids on properties offered for auction,
- (b) questionable and inaccurate bid recording and record keeping brought into question several of the reported highest bids for several properties that were sold,
- (c) properties were not properly researched to ensure that they were eligible for sale,
- (d) payment time frames established by the Code were not properly adhered to,
- (e) adequate documentation of the Notice of Attachment process, as required by the Code, was not always maintained to ensure that taxpayers’ constitutional right of due process was followed, and
- (f) auction costs and fees were not assessed and collected once properties were sold or redeemed.”
Click here to read the full report.
The VI Consortium will bring you more on this developing story.
Tags: audit
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