In a Jan. 27 oversight roundtable, the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA) addressed findings from Chief Compliance Officer Petuna Cooper regarding the alleged mishandling of taxpayer dollars. Cooper, who is currently on paid administrative leave for reasons DCHA officials said are unrelated to the allegations, testified that she documented over $60 million in financial mismanagement within the agency.
Cooper’s observations, released in a September 2025 report to the agency, detailed 10 findings, including $60 million in unapproved transfers within the agency’s repair and maintenance fund, $1.4 million in unclear transfers, and $2 million in stale checks. Cooper and her team also found the agency made voucher payments for deceased residents and failed to distribute penalties under the Davis-Bacon Act following DCHA contractors’ violations of wage laws, totaling to $167,000.
Speakers at the roundtable, including Housing Committee Chair Council member Robert White and Ward 3 Council member Matthew Frumin, expressed concern over the findings. Calling the situation “grave,” the council members noted previous difficulties with DCHA’s financial statements, as D.C. taxpayers remain unaware of where DCHA’s money ends up.
During the roundtable, Cooper said she was asked not to pursue any of the issues raised in the observations. She has been on administrative leave since Dec. 11, which DCHA claims is due to her unprofessional treatment toward employees, including the use of derogatory words to belittle staff, though Cooper denies these allegations, according to reporting by the Washington City Paper. Cooper has since sued the organization, including specific employees, for retaliation. The employees were unable to comment due to the ongoing litigation, DCHA officials said at the roundtable.
After she released her observations, Cooper recommended conducting a forensic audit, separate from the standard and frequent auditing of the organization. During the roundtable, DCHA officials said a forensic audit was unnecessary.
Deputy Executive Director Nicole Wickliffe, Board Chair Raymond Skinner, Interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Isra Elkhazeen, Commissioner Leroy Clay III, and Office of Financial Management Advisor Steve Nolan testified on behalf of DCHA.
According to their testimony, DCHA was already aware of the issues brought forth in the September observations. DCHA’s Office of Audit and Compliance (OAC) is reviewing the agency’s finance officer’s responses and is working on a final analysis and recommendation. OAC says there is no fraud in the organization, and DCHA says the issues are actively being addressed, though officials acknowledged the gravity of the issues in the meeting.
“There has to be progress,” Nolan said. “We should be making some strides in that regard.”
The agency’s plans include the reconciliation of accounts; optimization, including ensuring proper accounting, correct account mapping, fixed asset modules, and increasing overall process efficiency; and conducting a risk assessment, officials said. While some of these plans are in action, DCHA has no definitive timeline to complete them. The organization said it must first hire a new CFO and complete outstanding audits. According to testimony, a timeline should be crafted by the end of June.
DCHA did not respond to a request to provide updated timeline information by the deadline. Another DCHA performance oversight hearing is scheduled for Feb. 25.
This article originally appeared in Street Sense’s Feb. 11, 2026 edition.
