This section includes the following subsections: (a) a synopsis of the study, (b) the presentation of the findings, (c) applications to professional practice, (d) implications for social change, and (e) recommendations for action. The remaining subsections include recommendations for future research, reflections, and conclusion. Section 3 will also include an analysis of the correlation between study themes and the conceptual frameworks and current research findings.
Synopsis of Study
The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to explore strategies some business executives might use to detect and eliminate tenant fraud in subsidized rental housing. The study population consisted of business executives of public housing authorities (PHAs) located in central Florida, possessing successful experience in detecting and eliminating tenant fraud in subsidized rental housing. The business executives did not feel comfortable referring any property owners for the study.
Therefore, the study participants were limited to business executives employed by PHAs. Participation was voluntary, and I informed participants of their rights to withdraw from the study at any time. All interviews took place in the privacy of the office of each respective participant.
Based on participants’ responses, it is apparent that business executives who were successful with strategies implemented to combat tenant fraud in the HCV Program, understood the relationship between attitudes of individuals and subjective norms to what
provoked certain fraudulent behavioral intentions. Ajzen (2014), Ajzen and Sheikh (2016), and Chen (2016) argued that when business executives focused on addressing a certain type of behavior, it is critical to also focus on the attitudes, belief systems, and subjective norms that provoked the behavior, which is in alignment with the TPB.
Presentation of Findings
The overreaching research question for the study was: What strategies do business executives use to detect and eliminate tenant fraud in subsidized rental housing? I used two sources of data for this case study. One source of data was in-depth interviews of six business executives from three PHA business executives located in central Florida. I also examined policies and procedures related to fraud detection strategies developed by the participants. The study of peer-reviewed journals provided a foundation for establishing the relationship between the research question and the conceptual framework.
The use of pseudonyms (e.g., PH1A, PH1B, and PH2A) protected the identity of participants and preserves their confidentiality. Participants 1, 2, and 3 were business executives of the same housing authority, identified as PH1. Participants 4 and 5 were business executives of the second housing authority, referred to as PH2, while participant 6 was a business executive of the third housing authority (PH3). Table 1 reflects the demographics of business executives who had implemented successful strategies to combat tenant fraud in the HCV program. One participant was an executive director, three participants were compliance officers or fraud investigators, and two participants were housing coordinators or administrators. Four participants were female and two were
males. The years of housing business experience ranged from 10 to 30 years, with the average experience at 18.83 years. The interviews lasted an average of 90 minutes. Table 1
Demographic Data for Business Executives Who Implemented Successful Strategies Participant Position or title Location Years of housing business experience
PH1A Executive Director Florida 29
PH1B Compliance Officer Florida 10
PH1C Housing Coordinator Florida 10
PH2A Housing Administrator
Florida 30
PH2B Fraud Investigator Florida 13
PH3A Director of Compliance and Fraud Recoveries
Florida 21
I presented the same eight semistructured interview questions to each participant. The use of semistructured interviews, documents, and member checking revealed robust and holistic strategies developed and implemented to detect and curtail tenant fraud in their respective agencies. To generate themes, I used open-coding techniques and NVivo software to aid in identifying high-frequency words or phrases. A discussion of key elements of the analysis is included in the following subsections.
A Review of Thematic Creation
Participants provided an in-depth comprehension of how PHAs in central Florida effectively and efficiently detected and reduced tenant fraud in the HCV Program. I identified reoccurring themes by initially scrutinizing each participant’s response to each interview question separately and then coded the responses for reoccurring themes. Next,
I performed a second analysis based on a combination of all responses, which revealed identical themes as the first analysis. The predominant emergent themes were (a) perception of tenant fraud, (b) detect and minimize tenant fraud, (c) tenant attitudes and belief systems affect fraudulent behavior, and (d) verification procedures. The most prevalent strategy used was reliance on the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system provided by HUD. The use of the HUD EIV system appeared to be key to combatting tenant fraud in the HCV Program because it revealed unreported income. Table 2 contains the most prevalent keyword developmental phases from the data analysis. Table 2
Code Frequency
Codes n Theme
Strategy: Review of bank statements and tax returns/transcripts
29 2, 4
Strategy: Use of Enterprise Income Verification (EIV)
27 2, 4
Strategy: Verify family members 18 1, 2, 4
Strategy: Improve interview techniques 7 1, 3
Strategy: Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) contacts and automated background checks
6 2, 4
I conducted a second analysis comprised of a most common word count. I established theme relationships by assembling word counts, related to the theoretical concepts. Table 3 is comprised of keywords of theoretical concepts resulting from thematic formation. The conceptual framework for this study was TPB. Participants commented that the beliefs and value systems of perpetrators directly motivate them to commit fraudulent acts. According to the majority of participants, common tenant
attitudes that affected fraudulent behavior included being apologetic, defensive, and defiant. The feeling of remorse by the tenants for their fraudulent actions was the most popular response from participants.
Table 3
Top Six Frequently Occurring Words and Groups Related to Content and Context
No. Groups and keywords Theoretic ideas Theme n
1 Fraud issues and problems Perceptions 1 10
2 Unreported income and EIV system
Fraud detection 2 35
3 Entitled, blameless, with no remorse
Tenant attitudes, belief system, and behavior
3 15
4 Bank statements and tax returns, verify children, family members
Mitigation strategies 4 32
5 Verification procedures Effectiveness of strategies 4 29 6 Eliminate zero income and
notarized contribution letters
Regulatory changes 2 9
Participants indicated the use of HUD’s EIV system and consistent verification procedures improved the success of fraud detection and reduction. The participants stressed the need for regulatory changes, such as eliminating the zero income eligibility and notarized contribution letters, to combat tenant fraud. Table 4 reflects a summary of the coded frequency by the participants for Themes one through four. The HUD EIV system encompasses unreported income of tenants (Greenlee, 2014). All participants suggested that most fraud perpetrators withhold income information because they want the amount of rent paid out of pocket to be the least amount possible. Participants also suggested some tenants withhold income information because they believe PHA staff will
not detect the fraud. Tenants with such belief demonstrated planned behavior in alignment with the TPB.
Table 4
Topics Mentioned Most Frequently by Participants PH 1A PH 1B PH 1C PH 2A PH 2B PH 3C Frequency Theme Interview techniques Y Y Y 3 1
Unreported income and EIV Y Y Y Y Y Y 6 2
Entitled, blameless, with no remorse
Y Y Y Y 4 3
Bank statements and tax returns, verify children and family members
Y Y Y Y Y Y 6 4
Verification procedures Y Y Y Y Y 5 4
Eliminate zero income Y Y Y Y 4 2