Audit Finds Abuse of Education Dept. Credit Cards

I was once sat in on a petty theft case where a poor man who stole a $ .99 pack of potato chips and got a few months in jail. Occasionally you'll see bookkeeping types do time for kiting schemes - where government money is used "on the float" to pay personal expenses. They were going to pay it back....

This from The Washington Post:

U.S. Department of Education employees inappropriately used government credit cards to purchase $49,500 worth of goods and services, including meals, items at clothing stores and rental cars, for personal use, according to a review by the department's inspector general.

Auditors examining a sample of business travel expenses for fiscal 2006 found $18,256 in inappropriate charges made by 34 employees. The charges included payments to clothing retailers and restaurants near their homes or office.

Twenty-nine people used bank cards to withdraw about $17,600 more than allowed under the department's travel allowance for meals and incidentals. Four department workers made $13,570 in bank card withdrawals when they weren't on business travel. One logged 44 withdrawals totaling $8,560.

It could not be determined yesterday whether employees paid for the personal expenses they charged. The cards are issued to individual employees who are responsible for paying the bills but then seek reimbursement.

The July 1 report calls on the department to improve oversight of travel charge cards, which are only to be used for official travel, including to schools, conferences and training. "Inappropriate use of the travel card . . . represents abuse of a Government-provided resource, and compromises the integrity of the Department," the report says....

...The inspector general's office said the department failed to follow recommendations it laid out in a 2002 inquiry of the travel card program that also found lax controls. The new report noted that some employees who made inappropriate charges six years ago were flagged for problems this time.

..."We concur with the IG's findings and have a corrective action plan in place to address the IG's concerns," said Samara Yudof, spokeswoman for Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings....

It is unclear if the department's corrective action will include criminal charges for theft by unlawful taking.