Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief 

Special Inspector General for TARP 

Program Summary by Budget Activity 

Dollars in Thousands 

FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2018 TO FY 2019 

Budget Activity Enacted Annualized 

CR Request $ Change % Change 

Investigations $32,516 $34,748 $16,450 ($18,298) -52.66% 

Audit $8,644 $6,132 $1,050 ($5,082) -82.88% 

Subtotal, SIGTARP $41,160 $40,880 $17,500 ($23,380) -57.19% 

Unobligated Balances Brought Forward $0 $0 $6,437 $6,437 N/A 

Resources from Other Accounts $82 $0 $1,563 $1,563 N/A 

Total Program Operating Level $41,242 $40,880 $25,500 ($15,380) -37.62% 

Direct FTE 141 140 85 (55) -39.29% 

Total FTE 141 140 85 (55) -39.29% 

Note: FY 2017 FTE and Resources from Other Accounts are actual. 

The FY 2017 Enacted column reflects levels appropriated in H.R. 255, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017. 

For further details on the execution of these resources, see the 2019 Budget Appendix chapter for the Department of the Treasury. 

Summary 

The FY 2019 Budget proposes $17,500,000,1

which is 57 percent below the FY 2018 

Annualized CR level, to conduct oversight 

over $37.4 billion in Troubled Asset Relief 

Program (TARP) housing programs, and $100 

million in open TARP banking programs. 

The Office of the Special Investigator General 

for TARP (SIGTARP) is primarily a federal 

law enforcement agency investigating crime at 

financial institutions that received TARP funds 

or other TARP recipients in TARP housing 

programs. SIGTARP’s ongoing criminal 

investigations of recipients of TARP dollars in 

TARP housing programs counter threats to 

public safety and government interests, 

including financial institution fraud, public 

corruption, antitrust (unfair competition), and 

contract fraud. 

The $27.8 billion Making Home Affordable 

Program (MHA) continues until September 

2023. Treasury has paid $18.4 billion and will 

pay up to an additional $9.4 billion to Wells 

Fargo, Ocwen Loan Servicing, JPMorgan 

Chase, Bank of America, Nationstar Mortgage, 

Select Portfolio Servicing, CitiMortgage, 

CIT/One West, Bayview, Ditech, and more 

 

1 Includes $70,000 for training and $50,000 to the Council of the 

Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. 

2 Includes fines, restitution, forfeiture, and full homeowner relief by a 

large financial institution.

than 120 other financial institutions. Future 

TARP payments are not automatic, but instead 

are based on the institution complying with the 

law and MHA rules. TARP’s Hardest Hit 

Fund (HHF) was scheduled to end in FY 2018, 

but Congress extended it by four years and 

expanded it by $2 billion in the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113). 

Recipients of TARP dollars include 19 state 

housing finance agencies and hundreds of 

demolition contractors, subcontractors, and 

others. The HHF subprogram for Blight 

Elimination has grown 1,500 percent to 

248 cities or counties since August 2013. The 

HHF subprogram for Down Payment 

Assistance has grown 1,200 percent to 

10 states since July 2015. 

SIGTARP’s investigations have recovered 

$10 billion, which translates to a 35 times 

return on investment from its spending of 

annual appropriations through FY 2017.2 For 

each of the last four fiscal years, recoveries to 

the government exceeded SIGTARP’s budget 

proposal. For example, in FY 2018, recoveries 

from SIGTARP investigations were 

$100 million, including $90 million paid to the 

government. SIGTARP has developed a deep 

expertise in identifying undetected crime, with 

408 defendants criminally charged as of 

January 2018. SIGTARP investigations have 

resulted in significant Department of Justice 

enforcement actions against General Motors 
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief 

and 10 financial institutions including 

Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JPMorgan 

Chase, Morgan Stanley, Ally Financial, 

SunTrust Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Wilmington 

Trust, RBS Securities, and Jefferies and 

Company. SIGTARP audits in FY 2016 and 

FY 2017 identified millions of dollars of waste 

and abuse; and identified the risk of criminal 

behavior in ongoing TARP programs. 

SIGTARP supports the Department of the 

Treasury’s FY 2018–2022 Strategic Plan 

(Strategic Plan) goals under the following: 

 Goal 4: Transform Government-wide 

Financial Stewardship; and 

 Goal 5: Achieve Operational Excellence. 

With the publication of the Strategic Plan, 

SIGTARP will work in FY 2018 to baseline its 

performance against the new strategic 

objectives. This could result in additional 

changes to performance measures in the 

FY 2020 Budget. 

SIGTARP FY 2019 Budget Highlights 

Dollars in Thousands 

SIGTARP FTE Amount 

FY 2018 Annualized CR 140 $40,880 

Changes to Base: 

Maintaining Current Levels (MCLs) $213 

Pay Annualization $60 

Non-Pay $153 

Subtotal Changes to Base $213 

Total FY 2019 Base 140 $41,093 

Program Changes: 

Program Decreases (55) ($23,59) 

Technical FTE Adjustment (55) ($9,500) 

Efficiency Savings ($14,09) 

Total FY 2019 Request 85 $17,500 

FY 2019 Budget Adjustments

Pay Annualization +$60,000 / +0 FTE 

Funds are requested for annualization of the 

January 2018 pay-raise. 

Non-Pay +$153,000 / +0 FTE 

Funds are requested for non-labor expenses 

such as travel, rent, contracts, supplies, and 

equipment. 

Technical FTE Adjustment -$9,500,000 / -55 

FTE 

The technical FTE adjustment reduces the 

appropriated FTE level. 

Efficiency Savings -$14,093,000 / -0 FTE 

SIGTARP will also seek to reduce nonpersonnel costs. 

Explanation of Budget Activities 

Investigations ($16,450,000 from direct 

appropriations) 

The Investigations budget activity supports 

SIGTARP’s priority of law enforcement of 

crimes related to TARP. 

Audit ($1,050,000 from direct 

appropriations) 

The limited Audit budget activity supports 

SIGTARP as the independent watchdog over 

TARP dollars. 

Both activities support and complement 

Treasury’s efforts to safeguard and protect the 

integrity of the financial system. SIGTARP 

coordinates with other law enforcement 

agencies, leveraging its unique position and 

expertise by forming law enforcement 

partnerships. 

 
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief 

SIGTARP Performance Highlights 

FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019

Budget Activity Performance Measures Actual Actual Actual Target Target

Investigations

Percentage of Cases Accepted for 

Consideration by Civil or Criminal 

Authorities Resulting in a Positive 

Final Outcome

N/A 77.0 81.0 70.0 35.0

Investigations

Percentage of Cases Presented to 

Civil or Criminal Authorities within 

Eight Months of the Case Being 

Opened

N/A 80.0 80.0 70.0 25.0

Investigations

Percentage of Cases That are 

Joint Agency/Task Force 

Investigations

70.0 71.0 75.0 70.0 70.0

Audit 

Percentage of Congressional 

Inquiries Responded to Within 415 

Days of Receipt 

100 99 93 DISC DISC

Audit 

Number of Completed Audit 

Products Including Referral to 

Investigations Division (Units) 

N/A 11 8 DISC DISC

Audit 

Number of Completed Audit 

Products Identifying Waste, Fraud, 

Abuse, Mismanagement, 

Inefficiencies, or Referrals to 

Investigations Division (Units) 

N/A N/A N/A 3 1

Key: DISC – Discontinued 

Description of Performance 

SIGTARP exceeded all metric targets in 

FY 2017. The “Percentage of Cases Accepted 

for Consideration by Civil or Criminal 

Authorities Resulting in a Positive Final 

Outcome” in FY 2017 was 81 percent which 

exceeded the target of 70 percent. The 

“Percentage of Cases Presented to Civil or 

Criminal Authorities within Eight Months of 

the Case Being Opened” was 80 percent which 

exceeded the target of 70 percent. The 

“Percentage of Cases That are Joint 

Agency/Task Force Investigations” with other 

law enforcement agencies was 75 percent 

which exceeded the target of 70 percent. The 

“Percentage of Preliminary Investigations 

Converted to Full Investigations within 180 

days” was 93 percent which exceeded the 

target of 80 percent. This measure was 

discontinued for FY 2018. 

SIGTARP exceeded its performance measure 

“Number of Completed Audit Products 

including Referrals to Investigations Division” 

of seven in FY 2017, with eight products. 

This measure was discontinued for FY 2018. 

SIGTARP exceeded its 85 percent goal of 

“Percentage of Congressional Inquiries 

Responded to within 45 Days of Receipt” by 

accomplishing 100 percent. This measure was 

discontinued for FY 2018. 
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief 

Comments of the Honorable Christy Goldsmith Romero 

Special Inspector General Troubled Asset Relief Program 

FY 2019 Proposed Funding Level

Under the provisions of section 6(g)(3)(E) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, 

as applied through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the Special Inspector 

General has provided the following comments regarding FY 2019 proposed funding: 

The FY 2019 budget request, which is 57% below the FY 2018 Annualized CR level 

substantially inhibits the Office of the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP) 

from performing the duties of the office, including audits and criminal investigations. 

The proposed reduction does not reflect that nearly all of SIGTARP’s planned work for 

FY 2019 is over $37.4 billion of TARP housing programs, which are not in wind down. 

The Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) has $9.5 billion to be spent through 

FY 2023, and has not declined in steady participation of about one million homeowners 

from FY 2015 to FY 2017. The Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) program is in a ramp-up stage

after Congress added $2 billion in the FY 2016 appropriations, and Treasury extended 

TARP spending of $2.65 billion through FY 2022. HHF is not limited to Treasury 

disbursements as dollars are recaptured into the program when houses are sold. 

SIGTARP has already found fraud, waste, and abuse in both of these programs. 

Taxpayers will lose millions of dollars under the request because SIGTARP’s work 

results in recoveries of millions of dollars to the Government each year. SIGTARP has a 

35 times return on investment in actual dollars recovered. In each of FY 2015, FY 2016, 

FY 2017, and FY 2018, SIGTARP’s actual recoveries to the Government have exceeded 

its appropriation. FY 2017 recoveries of $64.31 million to the Government exceeded the 

$41.16 million appropriation, and FY 2018 recoveries of $90 million to the Government 

exceeded the $40 million Annualized CR. SIGTARP’s investigations have also resulted 

in millions of dollars recovered for victims, and SIGTARP’s audits have found millions of 

dollars in waste for Treasury to recover – waste that Treasury failed to catch. 

Substantial reductions to SIGTARP’s budget will reduce Government recoveries. 

SIGTARP already has reduced its budget substantially from FY 2017 levels to reflect that 

TARP investments in banks, autos, and AIG have been wound down to $100 million 

outstanding. After achieving criminal prosecutions of 408 defendants including 99 

bankers, and Department of Justice actions against General Motors and 10 financial 

institutions, SIGTARP has reduced resources over TARP investments to only the 

resources necessary to support DOJ prosecutions of bankers SIGTARP investigated. 

Criminal investigations: SIGTARP’s highest priority is investigations of unlawful 

conduct by banks and others administering the $27.8 billion MHA program — 

investigations that would be shut down under this proposed budget. These investigations 

require resources because of the size and complexity of the institutions and the amount of 

TARP dollars at stake. The major current and future TARP recipients in MHA have a 

track record of wrongdoing and enforcement actions, which creates a high risk of fraud, 

waste, and abuse. For example, Wells Fargo, the subject of a well-publicized 2016 

enforcement action, has already received $3 billion in MHA, and will receive up to an 
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief 

additional $1.4 billion in TARP dollars. Ocwen, the subject of a 2017 enforcement 

action by 22 state attorneys general, has received $4.6 billion, and will receive up to an 

additional $2.4 billion in TARP. JPMorgan Chase, the subject of a Justice Department 

action investigated by SIGTARP related to MHA, has received $2.9 billion in MHA and 

will receive up to an additional $1 billion. Bank of America, the subject of a Justice 

Department action investigated by SIGTARP related to MHA, has received $2.9 billion 

and will receive up to an additional $762 million. SIGTARP has reported repeatedly 

about each financial institution’s track record of breaking the MHA rules. SIGTARP has 

proven expertise in identifying fraud, waste, and abuse in large financial institutions, 

with our investigations resulting in Justice Department enforcement actions against 10 

financial institutions, including for example, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of 

America, JPMorgan Chase, Fifth Third Bank, Ally Financial, and SunTrust Bank. 

SIGTARP has a significant number of criminal investigations into the Hardest Hit Fund, 

many of which would also be shut down under the proposed budget. Of high risk is the 

$800 million blight subprogram that pays TARP dollars to demolition contractors which 

has grown 1,500% to 248 cities or counties. SIGTARP investigations counter threats 

such as fraud, corruption, contract steering, bid-rigging, and environmental crimes. 

SIGTARP’s audits in 2016 and 2017 have uncovered that the program is at significant 

risk of fraud, waste and abuse: (1) lacking are standard requirements for competition 

and limits on Federal dollars to only necessary and reasonable costs; (2) demolition and 

other related costs rose by 90% in the largest blight state; (3) homeowners were evicted 

so their homes could qualify for demolition to move a Ford automobile dealership to 

their street; and (4) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found mishandling of asbestos, 

and the risk of asbestos exposure, contaminated soil, and illegal dumping in Flint, 

Michigan, with risks throughout the program. 

Audits: In 2016 and 2017, SIGTARP’s forensic audits uncovered millions of dollars 

wasted in state agency expenses in the Hardest Hit Fund, including monthly payments for 

a CEO to drive a Mercedes Benz, country club lunches, holiday parties, picnics, catered 

barbeques with Treasury employees, steak and seafood dinners, a pizza party to celebrate 

the new HHF funding, Visa gift cards for employees, zoo admissions, gym memberships, 

bonuses included a fired CEO’s $20,000 severance package, settlements of 

discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuits, and more. SIGTARP’s audits have a 

deterrent impact on waste that will be lost under the proposed budget. With state 

agencies spending $1.1 billion on TARP funds on their own expenses, SIGTARP’s 

forensic audit expertise is crucial in identifying waste that Treasury’s reviews missed. 

The proposed budget substantially inhibits SIGTARP’s ability to: (1) identify costly waste 

and abuse in TARP housing programs in ongoing and future audits, and (2) conduct 

ongoing and future criminal investigations in TARP housing programs that lead to 

indictments, convictions, prison sentences, and recoveries. SIGTARP will not be able to 

do the job the taxpayers need and Congress expects in the absence of sufficient funding. 

Taxpayers are not protected if SIGTARP’s budget is reduced 50% while Treasury has 

grown the HHF blight program 1,500% and is scheduled to pay billions in TARP dollars 

to companies that have been the subject of scandals.