Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Times
December 19, 2007
Pg. 5
By Jim McElhatton, Washington Times
Defense Department employees in the Washington area who fraudulently used or sold their Metro or parking subsidies could soon face criminal investigation, government inspectors said.
Auditors for the Defense Department said they have uncovered "potential cases of fraud and abuse" among the tens of thousands of government workers who receive federal transit subsidies.
The cases may be referred to criminal investigators with the Defense Department, according to a recent report by the department's inspector general.
The findings in the report raise similar concerns as those outlined earlier this year in a Government Accountability Office review, which found that some federal workers were selling their Metro subsidies over the Internet.
The latest report found a "high risk" that Defense Department workers will commit fraud by holding transit subsidy benefits and subsidized parking benefits at the same time.
The report does not say how much the potential fraud might cost taxpayers, but the losses could total millions of dollars a year. There are more than 30,000 Defense employees getting subsidies at a cost of more than $30 million annually.
A major problem is recordkeeping. Auditors found that a federal database that keeps track of Defense Department employees receiving transit benefits did not have complete information for more than 40 percent of the estimated 33,000 employees enrolled.
"These findings indicate a high risk that [Defense Department] employees will not file forms to indicate status changes or to withdraw from the program, will commit fraud to receive benefits more than once in the same distribution period, and will obtain and concurrently hold both transit subsidy benefits and subsidized parking benefits," auditors wrote in the report.
The inspector general also said the office is continuing to review an unspecified number of cases before deciding whether to turn the information over to criminal investigators.
A spokesman for the Defense Department declined to comment yesterday, but referred The Washington Times to a written response to the inspector general's report by David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
"I am pleased to inform you that efforts are well under way to revise the department's current mass-transit subsidy policy, issue more comprehensive program guidelines, and ensure consistent program administration throughout the department," Mr. Chu wrote.
One month after the GAO issued its report, the Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to tighten their policies on transit subsidies.
Under the new rules, applications for transit subsidies must include an employee's home address, a work address, commuting-cost breakdown, a certification of eligibility and a warning against making false statements.
December 19, 2007
Pg. 5
By Jim McElhatton, Washington Times
Defense Department employees in the Washington area who fraudulently used or sold their Metro or parking subsidies could soon face criminal investigation, government inspectors said.
Auditors for the Defense Department said they have uncovered "potential cases of fraud and abuse" among the tens of thousands of government workers who receive federal transit subsidies.
The cases may be referred to criminal investigators with the Defense Department, according to a recent report by the department's inspector general.
The findings in the report raise similar concerns as those outlined earlier this year in a Government Accountability Office review, which found that some federal workers were selling their Metro subsidies over the Internet.
The latest report found a "high risk" that Defense Department workers will commit fraud by holding transit subsidy benefits and subsidized parking benefits at the same time.
The report does not say how much the potential fraud might cost taxpayers, but the losses could total millions of dollars a year. There are more than 30,000 Defense employees getting subsidies at a cost of more than $30 million annually.
A major problem is recordkeeping. Auditors found that a federal database that keeps track of Defense Department employees receiving transit benefits did not have complete information for more than 40 percent of the estimated 33,000 employees enrolled.
"These findings indicate a high risk that [Defense Department] employees will not file forms to indicate status changes or to withdraw from the program, will commit fraud to receive benefits more than once in the same distribution period, and will obtain and concurrently hold both transit subsidy benefits and subsidized parking benefits," auditors wrote in the report.
The inspector general also said the office is continuing to review an unspecified number of cases before deciding whether to turn the information over to criminal investigators.
A spokesman for the Defense Department declined to comment yesterday, but referred The Washington Times to a written response to the inspector general's report by David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
"I am pleased to inform you that efforts are well under way to revise the department's current mass-transit subsidy policy, issue more comprehensive program guidelines, and ensure consistent program administration throughout the department," Mr. Chu wrote.
One month after the GAO issued its report, the Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to tighten their policies on transit subsidies.
Under the new rules, applications for transit subsidies must include an employee's home address, a work address, commuting-cost breakdown, a certification of eligibility and a warning against making false statements.