Department of Housing and Urban Development used a disaster program designed to help needy people to give millions of dollars to wealthy people, Politico reported.
The owners of 62 houses worth more than $1 million, including 12 worth more than $2 million, on Connecticut's Gold Coast received aid to pay for repairs after Hurricane Sandy, Politico reported.
The outlet said the homeowners received a total of $6.4 million, which is 15% of the total $44 million in HUD aid for home repairs in the state.
The payments, first reported by Politico, came after a little-noticed 2013 change to HUD regulations that allowed states to reimburse wealthy homeowners for home repairs.
That change only affected Sandy aid, but Politico reported that HUD has allowed other states similar flexibility after major disasters.
One payment cited was $150,000 to the owner of a $5.5 million waterfront home in Darien, Connecticut.
"It really stinks," former HUD analyst Carlos Martín told Politico. "That's not who the disaster recovery program is intended to serve."
The median home value in Connecticut is $311,500, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Unlike New Jersey, which gave home-repair money only to households with income below $250,000, Connecticut set no income limits for recipients of HUD aid after Sandy.
Officials from HUD and Connecticut defended the reimbursements, citing to Politico Sandy's devastating impact on wealthy communities.
"HUD recognizes that in high-cost real estate markets there may be an unmet housing need that extends to properties and areas with high market values," the department said in a statement to Politico.
The Connecticut Department of Housing told Politico: "Priority was given to low-income owners, and if there were available funds, then a higher income applicant could receive assistance."
State housing officials insist they followed federal rules when allocating the HUD money. Nearly 67% of the $159 million for rebuilding homes, businesses and infrastructure has been spent on projects that benefit low- and moderate-income people, according to the state's latest spending report.
However, Connecticut officials later said the aid program had failed to repair more than $1 million in damage in Bridgeport, one of the Connecticut's most impoverished areas.
In a Dec. 20 post on the Federal Register, HUD disclosed plans to overhaul its disaster program. Potential changes would include efforts to "improve the allocation formula."
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