[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 4]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR792.103]

[Page 33]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
 CHAPTER VII--OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN 
 DEVELOPMENT (HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING 
                                PROGRAMS)
 
PART 792_PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY SECTION 8 FRAUD RECOVERIES--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart A_General Provisions
 
Sec. 792.103  Definitions.

    Fraud and abuse. Fraud and abuse means a single act or pattern of 
actions:
    (1) That constitutes false statement, omission, or concealment of a 
substantive fact, made with intent to deceive or mislead; and
    (2) That results in payment of section 8 program funds in violation 
of section 8 program requirements.
    The terms Public Housing Agency (PHA) and Indian Housing Authority 
(IHA) are defined in 24 CFR part 5.
    Judgment. Judgment means a provision for recovery of section 8 
program funds obtained through fraud and abuse, by order of a court in 
litigation or by a settlement of a claim in litigation, whether or not 
stated in a court order.
    Litigation. A lawsuit brought by a PHA to recover section 8 program 
funds obtained as a result of fraud and abuse.
    Principal party in initiating or sustaining an action to recover. 
Principal party in initiating or sustaining an action to recover means 
the party that incurs more than half the costs incurred in:
    (1) Recertifying tenants who fraudulently obtained section 8 rental 
assistance;
    (2) Recomputing the correct amounts owed by tenants; and
    (3) Taking needed actions to recoup the excess benefits received, 
such as initiating litigation.
    Costs incurred to detect potential excessive benefits in the routine 
day-to-day operations of the program are excluded in determining the 
principal party in initiating or sustaining an action to recover. For 
example, the cost of income verification during an annual 
recertification would not be counted in determining the principal party 
in initiating or sustaining an action to recover.
    Public housing agency (PHA). A public housing agency as defined in 
Sec. 791.102.
    Repayment agreement. Repayment agreement means a formal document 
signed by a tenant or owner and provided to a PHA in which a tenant or 
owner acknowledges a debt, in a specific amount, and agrees to repay the 
amount due at specific time period(s).

[59 FR 9409, Feb. 28, 1994, as amended at 61 FR 5212, Feb. 9, 1996; 64 
FR 26640, May 14, 1999]