PHA may have to repay HUD for harassment-claim payouts

By secretly settling sexual-harassment complaints against its executive director, the Philadelphia Housing Authority runs the risk of having to repay the federal government for the money it paid out.

Under federal guidelines, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development must approve any settlement relating to sexual harassment, regardless of the amount, said spokeswoman Donna White.

The payments at the center of the PHA crisis - all made to women who filed complaints against Carl R. Greene - were carried out without the knowledge of the agency's board and without informing HUD, which provides most of its funding.

White said she could not directly discuss PHA because of an ongoing HUD investigation. Speaking generally, however, White said settlements reached without HUD approval could be ruled "ineligible or unreasonable."

If that were to occur, White said HUD could demand to be reimbursed for payouts.

In the three sexual-harassment cases that have been settled, PHA's insurance company - Housing Authority Risk Retention Group - paid $401,000. The remaining $247,000 was covered directly by PHA, according to information in internal PHA documents obtained by The Inquirer. A fourth case, filed in April, is under settlement talks, and the agency has offered the woman $250,000.

Asked to comment, a spokeswoman for PHA, Nichole Tillman, insisted that the Housing Authority did not have to seek approval from HUD. She did not elaborate.

However, in an e-mail response to The Inquirer, John F. Street, PHA's chairman, said he agreed that the authority could have to repay HUD.

Last year, PHA received $359 million in government grants - most of which came from the federal government. PHA also brought in $22 million for services and earned $14 million from investment income.

Greene, 53, has been suspended by PHA's board, pending an internal investigation. In addition, auditors from HUD and investigators from the U.S. Attorney's Office are examining the agency's finances and operations.

Revelations about the sexual-harassment complaints against Greene came on the heels of disclosure of his personal financial problems.

In June, Greene's bank foreclosed on his $615,000 townhouse at Naval Square, and the IRS placed a lien of $52,000 on his assets for taxes on unpaid income. Greene has since repaid the bank and IRS.

Before being suspended by the PHA board, Greene, who last year earned $306,370, had sought a leave of absence. He is being treated at a medical facility in Maryland for stress-related issues.