Reports

On March 26, 2020, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its first COVID-19-focused report, OIG Inspection of Veterans Health Administration’s COVID-19 Screening and Pandemic Readiness. In that report, the OIG evaluated how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) was preparing facilities to meet anticipated rising demands. This report outlines VHA’s continued response to the pandemic and provides VHA leaders’ descriptions of the evolving challenges they faced in caring for veterans and potentially nonveteran patients as well. The OIG engaged leaders from 70 selected facilities in...

A Little Rock woman was arrested this afternoon based on allegations she fraudulently obtained nearly $2 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans intended to provide relief for small businesses affected by COVID-19.

A resident of the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles was ordered held without bond this afternoon after being arrested on federal charges alleging he fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, some of which he used on gambling excursions to Las Vegas and transferred to his stock trading accounts.

A California man was arrested today and charged with fraudulently seeking over $8.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna of the Central District of California.

BOSTON – A Winchester man was indicted yesterday in connection with allegedly filing fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $13 million in forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for COVID-19 relief through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

This report was initiated due to state and county level employees reaching out to the Auditor of State’s Office to discuss reporting delays related to Test Iowa. The reporting delays mentioned could have a negative impact on the pandemic response by hindering contact tracing and decision-making at both governmental and individual levels..

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which provided the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) with $756 million to support the needs of DOI programs, bureaus, Indian Country, and the Insular Areas.As part of the CARES Act, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) received $69 million from the DOI to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the CARES Act funding appropriated directly to the DOI, the CARES Act’s Education Stabilization Fund required the U.S. Department of Education to...

A local man has been taken into custody on allegations he fraudulently obtained more than $1.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

A Texas man has been taken into custody on allegations he fraudulently obtained more than $1.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick for the Southern District of Texas.

The owner of a residential construction contracting firm based in Washington, D.C. was charged with allegedly submitting fraudulent documents to a bank in connection with applications seeking more than $400,000 in a forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow and Michael J. De Palma, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement today in an effort to remind taxpayers of the July 15 filing and payment deadline and warned against an increase in tax and COVID-19 scams.

A Florida man was arrested today on allegations that he fraudulently sought several Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and that he participated in a scheme to defraud Medicare of at least $5.6 million. It is further alleged that a portion of the PPP loan proceeds were potentially used in furtherance of the Medicare fraud scheme.

Act 115 of 2019 established the Vermont Emergency Economic Recovery Grants program and affords the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the Department of Taxes (Department) significant discretion for developing guidelines to implement the $152 million program, but the law also requires certain procedures and standards. The guidelines developed by ACCD and the Department – specifically the first-come, first-served distribution of public dollars and the absence of an evaluation of need in the application process – may not be consistent with the legislation. This approach does...

Millions of Americans and small businesses are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. This historic legislation, which included over $2 trillion in emergency financial assistance, was designed to provide immediate help for small businesses, healthcare providers, and individuals.

Two Utahns Charged With Covid-Relief Fraud After Failing To Disclose Applicant Was Under Federal Indictment

This review was completed as a non-audit service and does not constitute an audit conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. In agreement with management, we performed the following tasks: Reviewed practices for tracking COVID-19 related payroll and non-payroll expenditures; Reviewed the adequacy of tracking and systems/software for emergency management events; and Researched cost recovery funding sources for local government.

On April 9 and April 16, 2020, we received requests from U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson and U.S. Representatives Gwen Moore and Bryan Steil to investigate reports of absentee ballots not delivered in a timely manner for the Wisconsin primary election held Tuesday, April 7, 2020. This management alert responds to the congressional requests and presents our results and recommendations to address the issues identified in this report.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the accessibility of dermatology, orthopedics, and urology specialty care for patients in the 17 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) classified as highly rural. The OIG also reviewed accessibility, barriers, and the availability and utilization of resources for the time frame March 1, 2018 (or from the date the CBOC became highly rural), through February 28, 2019. VHA utilized clinical consults, electronic consults (eConsults), telehealth, and community care to provide specialty care at the highly...

CARES Act Section 3610 allows Federal agencies to reimburse their contractors and subcontractors for any paid leave, including sick leave, that the contractors provide to keep their employees or subcontractors in what the section refers to as a “ready state.” Because these reimbursements present a number of risks and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is already receiving Section 3610 claims from contractors, the DOI urgently needs to put policies in place to ensure consistent oversight of reimbursed leave costs.In this management advisory memorandum, we offer three recommendations that...

Unaddressed management challenges will impede the ability of the CSB to function effectively.

See the additional details link below for the full report, report summary, multimedia or any agency follow-up.

Medicaid is a joint Federal-State program that pays for medical assistance for individuals and families with low incomes. All States currently provide coverage for outpatient prescription drugs within their State Medicaid programs. Under section 1135 of the Act, CMS may temporarily waive or modify certain Medicaid requirements to ensure that sufficient health care items and services are available to meet the needs of beneficiaries in times of an emergency. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlights the need for States to efficiently and effectively respond to protect the needs of Medicaid beneficiaries. This audit will provide insights from State officials on action taken by States and DC to ensure Medicaid beneficiaries continue to receive prescriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will interview State officials from several States and DC to determine actions taken or planned. Our objective is to review actions taken or planned by States and DC to ensure Medicaid beneficiaries continue to receive prescriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The primary objective of this report is to show Missouri's spending of federal assistance in the month of May 2020 for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency and the cumulative financial activity since the state began receiving funding in April 2020.

We have audited, in accordance with auditing standards general accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, the financial statements of the governmental activities, the business-type activities, the aggregate discretely presented component units, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the state of North Dakota as of and for the year ended June 30, 2020, and the related notes to the financial statements, which collectively...

Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband reiterated today that cards and other documents bearing the Department of Justice seal and claiming that individuals are exempt from face mask requirements are fraudulent.

A Seattle doctor was taken into custody today on allegations that he fraudulently sought over $3 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

See the additional details link below for the full report, report summary, multimedia or any agency follow-up.

TULSA, Okla. – The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) this month stopped payment on nearly 3,800 fraudulently filed unemployment insurance claims, including 1,300 filed from a range of IP addresses located in London, England, announced Trent Shores, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma; Steven Grell, Special Agent-in-Charge, Dallas Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General; and Mike Hunter, Oklahoma Attorney General.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to an unprecedented demand for diagnostic laboratory testing to determine whether an individual has the virus. Beyond the COVID-19 tests, laboratories can also perform add-on tests, for example to confirm or rule out diagnosis other than COVID-19. However, OIG has program integrity concerns related to add-on tests in conjunction with COVID-19 testing, particularly related to potentially fraudulent billing for associated respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests, allergy tests, or genetic tests. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has relaxed rules related to COVID-19 testing and other associated diagnostic laboratory testing to no longer require an order from the treating physician or non-physician practitioner (NPP) during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Relaxation of the physician ordering/NPP rules could allow unscrupulous actors more leeway for fraudulent billing of unnecessary add-on testing. This study will examine Medicare claims data for laboratory testing to identify trends in the use of RPP, allergy, and genetic testing and identify patterns of billing by laboratories that may indicate fraud and abuse.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has not issued any notice or other public information regarding the use of face masks and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Section 204, Public Act 67 of 2020, effective March 30, 2020, requires the Office of the Auditor General to audit the use of funds appropriate for coronavirus public health emergency – health care capacity coronavirus public health emergency, and coronavirus response fund and report to the chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees at a minimum of every month on the appropriateness of the preceding month’s expenditures until the funds are expended. In order to provide a more complete picture of the total spending on COVID-19, our audit scope includes all COVID-19 coded...

The purpose of this memorandum is to notify you that we are researching prior audits of HUD’s Single Family Default Monitoring System to provide HUD information regarding lessons learned and risks identified in these prior audits that HUD should act on now to ensure program integrity and mitigate the risk of financial loss for COVID-19 related forbearance assistance and foreclosure moratorium related to single family loans.

The purpose of this memorandum is to notify you that we are researching prior audits of HUD’s partial claims loss mitigation option to provide HUD information regarding lessons learned and risks identified in these prior audits that HUD should act on now to ensure program integrity and mitigate the risk of financial loss for COVID-19 related partial claims.

In response to the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the National Park Service (NPS) closed most park buildings, facilities, and restrooms, and in some cases, entire parks. With States now easing stay-at-home restrictions, and in response to the White House’s emphasis to open the national parks, some parks have already increased access by implementing a phased reopening. To facilitate a safe reopening, the NPS issued the National Park Service COVID-19 Adaptive Operations Recovery Plan to the parks on May 28, 2020. We contacted each of the 62 national park superintendents to report on...

The DOI will award most of its CARES Act funding to Indian Country through grants to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Of the $756 million, $522 million (69.0 percent) will be funded to Indian Country. As of June 13, 2020, $419,462,721, or 80.4 percent, had been obligated.These emergency response awards from the DOI–together with more than $8.7 billion in awards to Indian Country from other Federal departments—present a higher risk because they must be spent in a short period of time. In addition, we have identified Indian Country as a high-risk area...

DAYTON – A Dayton woman appeared in federal court today on charges related to two coronavirus relief Paycheck Protection Program loans.

A Houston funeral director has been taken into custody on allegations he fraudulently sought over $13 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

A funeral home operator has been taken into custody on allegations he fraudulently sought over $13 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans

A Texas man was charged in an indictment unsealed today with wire fraud, false statements to a financial institution and money laundering for his alleged participation in a scheme to file fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $3 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A Massachusetts man was arrested today and charged with allegedly filing fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $13 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

This report is the first in a series of savings-focused best practice reviews to be conducted by the Auditor’s Office. If the Auditor’s Office reviews voluntary separation in the future, we may use information in this document as a starting point for our evaluation.

As a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, State Medicaid programs have expanded options for telehealth services. Rapid expansion of telehealth may pose challenges for State agencies and providers, including State oversight of these services. Our objective is to determine whether State agencies and providers complied with Federal and State requirements for telehealth services under the national emergency declaration, and whether the States gave providers adequate guidance on telehealth requirements.

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (the Act), as amended, authorizes the Federal Foster Care Program, which helps provide safe and stable out-of-home care for children until the children are safely returned home, placed permanently with adoptive families, or placed in other planned arrangements for permanency. Title IV-B of the Act authorizes Federal funding to States to promote flexibility in the development and expansion of coordinated child and family services programs. In response to COVID-19, on April 15, 2020, the Children's Bureau the operating division of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) that administers the Title IV-B and Title IV-E programs at the Federal level—provided flexibility to State Title IV-E agencies related to (1) fingerprint-based criminal record checks requirements for prospective foster parents (allowing for name-based checks until fingerprint-based checks can safely be done), and (2) caseworker visit requirements (allowing videoconferencing visits to count toward the requirement that 50 percent of visits must occur in the child's home). On April 27, 2020, the Children's Bureau reminded States of additional flexibilities afforded by the Statute, including the authority to modify foster family licensing standards as long as the standards are applied to all of these placements in accordance with the requirements of the Statute. Additionally, States have the authority to set their own foster care maintenance payment rates including, at their own discretion, enhancing those rates for children who test positive for COVID-19.

We intend to survey all States and identify the States that adopted any new licensing regulations or policies and procedures as a result of the existing flexibilities in the Statute and the waivers provided by ACF. Based on the information gathered, we plan to identify three States and conduct separate audits to ensure foster care providers are safeguarding the health and safety of children during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify any vulnerabilities or gaps in policies or procedures that could place these children at risk. As part of these audits, we would ensure that criminal record checks for foster parents conducted via name-based checks were ultimately conducted through fingerprints whenever determined safe to do so.

We surveyed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities from April 8-20, 2020 regarding their experiences and challenges managing COVID-19 among detainees in their custody and among their staff. The facilities that responded to our survey described various actions they have taken to prevent and mitigate the pandemic’s spread among detainees. These actions include increased cleaning and disinfecting of common areas, and isolating new detainees, when possible, as a precautionary measure. However, facilities reported concerns with their inability to practice social...

Implementing the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is among the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) highest priorities in this time of national emergency. The CARES Act provides DOT with over $36 billion to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 across all modes of transportation. To its credit, DOT swiftly distributed these funds and has begun implementing the Act’s requirements to provide much-needed relief to American workers, families, and businesses. As the Department is aware, the volume of CARES Act funds and the speed with which the funds have been...

The objective of this report is to provide insight into the top management challenges facing federal agencies that received pandemic relatedfunding as identified by Offices of Inspector General.

Seattle - A 41- year-old Bonney Lake, Washington, man was charged today in U.S. District Court in Seattle with theft of government property for his scheme to profit by stealing and selling respiratory support equipment from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.

A new online tool designed to help the public report civil rights violations United States Attorney for the Virgin Islands, Gretchen C.F. Shappert, announced that earlier this week, the United States Department of Justice launched its new Civil Rights Reporting Portal. This new online tool will make it easier for the public to report civil rights violations.

The owner and operator of several information technology companies based in the Chicago area has been charged in a complaint with allegedly filing a bank loan application fraudulently seeking more than $400,000 in a forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Among its provisions, the CARES Act provided the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) with $756 million to support the needs of DOI programs, bureaus, Indian Country, and the Insular Areas.This report presents the DOI’s progress as of May 31, 2020, in spending CARES Act appropriations. Specifically, the DOI’s expenditures to date total $337,105,190 and its obligations total $448,680,794.We are also monitoring the DOI’s progress on reporting milestones established by the CARES...