Investigative Reports

The OIG investigated allegations that a former National Park Service (NPS) superintendent held visitor donations in a private investment account instead of a U.S. Treasury account as required by NPS policy and may have personally benefited from the funds.We found no evidence of misuse or personal gain. We analyzed the account and found no withdrawals or transfers; all the donations remained in the account. Although holding the funds in a private investment account violated NPS policy, we found the superintendent was following procedures established by his predecessors. The NPS is in the process of transferring the funds to a U.S. Treasury account and enhancing its oversight of the funds.

The OIG investigated the alleged theft of a U.S. Treasury check paid to Cheryle Jordan for land that Jordan sold through the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations. Jordan filed a claim with the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) stating she never received the check. After Jordan filed her claim, however, the OST determined the check had been cashed.We determined Jordan falsely reported the check as stolen. Jordan admitted she mailed a false claim to fraudulently obtain a second check. She subsequently pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana to mail fraud and was sentenced to 2 years’ probation.

The OIG investigated allegations that an FWS contractor falsely certified payments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under a construction contract it held in the Southeast Region and that the contractor failed to pay a subcontractor for work performed.We found no evidence that the contractor falsely certified payments to the FWS or that it withheld payment to its subcontractor. We found that the subcontractor did not provide the contractor with timely and accurate support for its invoices and that there were legitimate delays in the contractor’s payments to the subcontractor. In an eventual settlement, the subcontractor acknowledged they had been paid in full for the work performed.

The OIG investigated allegations that a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manager sent pornographic images and sexually suggestive instant messages from his Government computer and personal cellphone to a subordinate employee. The complainant further alleged that the BLM manager installed cameras in the district office to monitor employees and had misused Federal money to purchase a 72-inch flat-screen television and furniture for his office. We found that the BLM manager sent sexually explicit messages to a subordinate employee from his Government computer during work hours and to two other BLM subordinate employees from his personal cellphone. All involved said the exchange of content was consensual, but the manager acknowledged that the conduct was inappropriate.We did not find that the BLM manager installed cameras to monitor employees, but he did admit that he had inappropriately used the building’s surveillance system and his Government-issued iPad to capture images of BLM employees without their knowledge.We found no evidence that the BLM manager misused Federal money to buy a television or furniture for his office.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated an allegation that the Executive Director of the Florida National Cemetery improperly stored his personal vehicle in a garage on Long Island National Cemetery property after he transferred to Florida and asked subordinates to drive him in government vehicles to and from his residence on the Long Island National Cemetery property to the airport. The Executive Director of the Calverton National Cemetery also allegedly asked subordinates to drive him in government vehicles to and from his residence and the airport. Additionally two employees allegedly misused VA resources by taking two government vehicles from New York to training in Virginia and one extended his travel to sightsee with his spouse. The OIG did not substantiate any of these allegations.

U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General Investigations Report Volume XVII: June 1 - July 31, 2018.

An Amtrak Foreman in Chicago, Illinois, was issued a letter of counseling on September 9, 2018, for providing an unauthorized written endorsement of a company vendor. The written endorsement was posted on the vendor’s website.On August 23, 2018, the vendor was issued a notice to remove the unauthorized endorsement, along with all company images and logos that had been posted to their website without permission. The vendor subsequently removed the unauthorized endorsement and images containing the company logo from their website.

An Amtrak Reservation Sales Agent resigned from employment on September 4, 2018, after the employee was prosecuted for theft of customer credit card numbers. The employee used the stolen credit card numbers to purchase items for personal use valued at over $2,100. On August 22, 2018, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, the employee entered into an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (intervention program) agreement for 12 months. The investigation was conducted jointly with the Amtrak Police Department.

An Amtrak Extra Board Lead Service Attendant in Chicago, Illinois, was terminated from employment on August 23, 2018, following an administrative hearing for violating company policy by stealing company funds and financial paperwork, wrongfully engaging in outside employment while on medical leave, and failing to cooperate with the OIG during the investigation.Our investigation revealed that the employee stole approximately $2,418.25 in cash and/or the cash equivalent value of unaccounted for/missing inventory. Additionally, we found that the employee worked at a local university while on medical leave from the company. Criminal judicial proceedings related to this case are pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.Amtrak OIG conducted this joint investigation with the Amtrak Police Department.Date Posted:

The OIG investigated allegations that a senior official from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) encouraged natural resource specialists to overlook regulations so they could process Applications for Permit to Drill more quickly, and to protect any staff members who overlooked the regulations Our investigation did not substantiate the allegations and found no evidence to indicate the senior official encouraged staff to overlook the regulations as alleged. We found the senior official did meet with a group of natural resource specialists and encouraged them to streamline processes, but he did not direct staff to overlook regulations.

The OIG investigated allegations that Great Western Drilling Corporation (GWD) misreported mineral royalty data to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) and underpaid Federal mineral royalties.We substantiated the allegations and found that for more than 6 years, the GWD violated Federal regulations and ONRR rules when they deducted their costs incurred transporting and processing natural gas and associated natural gas liquids into marketable condition from its royalty obligations to the ONRR. Because of these violations, the GWD underpaid Federal royalties to the ONRR.The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado entered into a civil settlement agreement with the GWD for $600,000 to resolve this case.

The OIG investigated allegations that a former Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) manager influenced the award of a $21 million environmental consulting contract to a firm that employed him after he left the USBR. The allegations further stated that a USBR supervisory contract specialist had a conflict of interest with managing the contract process because of her romantic relationship with the USBR manager.We found no evidence that the manager personally or substantially participated in the contract or that he influenced the award while he was employed by the USBR. We also investigated whether the manager violated post-Government employment restrictions with his employment at the firm, whether he used his position to gain employment, or whether he shared sensitive information with the firm. We found no evidence that the manager violated any restrictions, that he used his position to gain employment, or that he shared sensitive information with the firm. We also found no evidence that the supervisory contract specialist had a conflict of interest with managing the contracting staff, or that she should have recused herself from the contract process. The contract was deemed invalid and canceled because the award exceeded the contracting officer’s warrant authority. That decision was unrelated to this investigation.

We investigated allegations that a BIE official, when he was the principal of a BIE boarding school, had attempted to increase the school’s Federal funding by:• Allowing or directing the enrollment of students in the school’s gifted and talented (GT) program without properly assessing them• Submitting inaccurate student attendance recordsWe found that enrollment in the school’s GT program went up dramatically while the official was principal and that this increased the school’s Federal funding, but we did not find evidence that the official had directed school staff to identify GT students specifically to augment the school’s funding. We also learned that the school employees who oversaw the GT program after the BIE official left did not consistently comply with regulations governing GT programs at BIE schools that receive Federal funds.In addition, we found that most of the school’s students were absent as many as 6 days before the end of the school year when traveling from the school to their homes, but when the official was principal he directed school employees to mark them present in the attendance records. We did not find that this practice directly affected school funding, but it did reduce the students’ available instructional time.We provided this report to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs for any action deemed appropriate.