Reports

Department of Homeland Security OIG

More than $2.6 Million in Potentially Fraudulent LWA Payments Were Linked to DHS Employees’ Identities

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not implement controls to prevent state workforce agencies (SWA) from paying more than $2.6 million in Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) for potentially fraudulent claims made by Department of Homeland Security employees, or claimants who fraudulently used the identities of DHS employees to obtain LWA benefits.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/28/2022

1 - Closed

: We recommend the FEMA Administrator develop and implement a standard risk assessment process before initiating new Federal
grant programs. This risk assessment should focus on identifying and evaluating program risks that may affect FEMA’s ability to prevent waste,
fraud, and abuse in its programs and mitigating those external risks to the extent practical.

2 - Closed

We recommend the FEMA Administrator conduct an after-action study of the Lost Wages Assistance program and update FEMA Individual Assistance programs based on the lessons learned from the study.

3 - Closed

We recommend the FEMA Administrator, when mandated to rely on eligibility determinations of non-FEMA programs, develop a process to assess the program controls and identify risk, where practical.

4 - Open

We recommend the Chief Human Capital Officer for DHS’ Management Directorate develop, implement, and communicate departmental
policies and procedures for the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program to each component to ensure compliance with Federal requirements.

5 - Closed

We recommend the FEMA Administrator develop and implement a process to monitor whether grantees implement and use the controls attested to in FEMA-approved state administrative plans.

5 - Closed

We recommend the FEMA Administrator develop and implement a process to monitor whether grantees implement and use the
controls attested to in FEMA-approved state administrative plans.

6 - Closed

We recommend the FEMA Administrator develop and implement a process to review state administrative plans for consistency and
ensure they include fraud prevention and mitigation strategies.

7 - Closed

We recommend the FEMA Administrator de-obligate and recover any monies determined to have been obtained fraudulently or other
improper payments through the Lost Wages Assistance program from the state workforce agencies.

Department of the Interior OIG

The Three Affiliated Tribes Did Not Account for CARES Act Funds Appropriately

We determined that the Three Affiliated Tribes did not follow applicable requirements in an agreement with the BIA.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/28/2022

Department of Homeland Security OIG

FEMA Did Not Implement Controls to Prevent More than $3.7 Billion in Improper Payments from the Lost Wages Assistance Program

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not implement controls that may have prevented the 21 state workforce agencies (SWA) in our review from distributing more than $3.7 billion in improper payments through its Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/22/2022

1 - Open

We recommend the FEMA Administrator develop and implement a standard risk assessment process before initiating new Federal grant programs. This risk assessment should focus on identifying and evaluating program risks that may affect FEMA’s ability to prevent waste,
fraud, and abuse in its programs and mitigating those external risks to the extent practical.

2 - Closed

We recommend the FEMA Administrator, when mandated to rely on eligibility determinations of non-FEMA programs, develop a process to assess the program controls and identify risk to the extent practical.

3 - Open

We recommend the FEMA Administrator update the State Administrative Plan template to incorporate a requirement for grantees to include a description of the steps to prevent improper payments.

4 - Open

We recommend the FEMA Administrator develop and implement a process to monitor whether grantees implement and use the controls attested in FEMA-approved State Administrative Plans.

5 - Open

We recommend the FEMA Administrator work with state workforce agencies to evaluate the Lost Wages Assistance program payments
and verify that all recipients who received payment have a self-certification on file, as required; to determine whether the claimant meets eligibility requirements if no self-certification is on file; and, if not, to recover the payment.

6 - Open

We recommend the FEMA Administrator conduct an after-action study of the Lost Wages Assistance program and update FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program based on the lessons learned from the study.

7 - Closed

We recommend the FEMA Administrator de-obligate and recover any monies determined to have been obtained fraudulently or other improper payments through Lost Wages Assistance from the state workforce agencies.

Department of Homeland Security OIG

FEMA Needs to Improve Its Oversight of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must improve its oversight of the National Board’s (Board) administration of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) to ensure individuals receive aid in a timely manner and that program funding is used in accordance with Federal requirements.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Transportation OIG

FAA Quickly Awarded CARES Act Funds but Can Enhance Its Oversight Approach To Promote Effective Stewardship

What We Looked At The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with $10 billion to help airports deal with the public health emergency caused by Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). FAA awarded $9.1 billion in grants to airports nationwide, using its existing Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to distribute the funds. Our objective for this self-initiated audit was to assess whether FAA’s policies and procedures for awarding and overseeing CARES Act grants are sufficient to protect taxpayer interests. What We Found Leveraging the AIP...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Homeland Security OIG

ICE Did Not Follow Policies, Guidance, or Recommendations to Ensure Migrants Were Tested for COVID-19 before Transport on Domestic Commercial Flights

The objective was to determine the extent to which the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mitigates safety risks by testing migrants for COVID-19 before transport on domestic commercial flights and whether a process is in place for escorting noncitizen unaccompanied children (UCs) during transport.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 5/23/2022

Department of Homeland Security OIG

Lessons Learned from DHS' Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Initiative

Our objective was to evaluate how DHS determined employee status for placement into vaccine distribution priority groups; determine how DHS, in conjunction with VHA, planned to triage and distribute available vaccine inventory and vaccinate frontline, mission-critical DHS staff; and evaluate how DHS executed its plan.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Homeland Security OIG

Management Alert - FEMA's COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Operating Procedures Are Inconsistent with Previous Interpretation of Long-Standing Regulations for Eligible Funeral Expenses

We are issuing this management alert to advise the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that its Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Funeral Assistance Program operating procedures contradict FEMA’s previous interpretation of long-standing regulations for ineligible funeral expenses established in FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide (IAPPG). This interpretation of regulations for ineligible funeral expenses remains unchanged in FEMA Policy 104-21-0001 (COVID-19-specific policy).

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of the Interior OIG

Fulfillment of Purchase Card Orders

Our inspection identified $155,575 in CARES Act and pandemic-related purchase card transactions with insufficient documentation.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Homeland Security OIG

CISA Should Validate Priority Telecommunications Services Performance Data

The objective of this review was to determine whether DHS effectively supported operable and interoperable emergency communications for Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government officials and critical infrastructure operators during the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 1/12/2022

Date Range

Report Type

Report Category

Submitting Agency

State/Local Agency

State (State and Local Reports)

Fraud Type

Agency Reviewed

Related Organizations

Management Challenges

Any Recommendations

Any Open Recommendations

Reports

More than $2.6 Million in Potentially Fraudulent LWA Payments Were Linked to DHS Employees’ Identities

The Three Affiliated Tribes Did Not Account for CARES Act Funds Appropriately

FEMA Did Not Implement Controls to Prevent More than $3.7 Billion in Improper Payments from the Lost Wages Assistance Program

FEMA Needs to Improve Its Oversight of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program

FAA Quickly Awarded CARES Act Funds but Can Enhance Its Oversight Approach To Promote Effective Stewardship

ICE Did Not Follow Policies, Guidance, or Recommendations to Ensure Migrants Were Tested for COVID-19 before Transport on Domestic Commercial Flights

Lessons Learned from DHS' Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Initiative

Management Alert - FEMA's COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Operating Procedures Are Inconsistent with Previous Interpretation of Long-Standing Regulations for Eligible Funeral Expenses

Fulfillment of Purchase Card Orders

CISA Should Validate Priority Telecommunications Services Performance Data

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