Desk Review of Navajo Nation Tribal Government's Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund Proceeds

Submitting OIG:

Department of the Treasury OIG

Date Issued:

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

Department of the Treasury

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

OIG-CA-23-041

Component, if applicable:

Departmental Offices

Location(s):

Agency-Wide

Type of Report:

Other

Special Projects:

Pandemic

Questioned Costs:

$80,844,218

Funds for Better Use:

Number of Recommendations:

Report updated under NDAA 5274:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
OIG-CA-23-041.pdf	694.22 KB

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
1-1	Open	Yes
Castro recommends Treasury OIG personnel follow-up with Navajo Nation management and request that missing documentation to support expenditures is provided and necessary corrections are made in the GrantSolutions portal.
2-1	Open	Yes
Based on Navajo Nation’s responsiveness to Treasury OIG’s requests and its ability to provide sufficient documentation, we recommend Treasury OIG personnel determine the feasibility of performing a focused audit for Grants greater than or equal to $50,000, Aggregate Reporting less than $50,000, and Aggregate Payments to Individuals.
3-1	Open	Yes
For Aggregate Payments to Individuals, we recommend a specific focus on Navajo Nation’s non-payroll COVID-19 hardship claims, as well as payroll expenditures for employees substantially dedicated to COVID-19 recovery efforts.
4-1	Open	Yes
Treasury OIG follow-up on the following outstanding items: 1. Ensure Navajo Nation management re-issues $ in stale-dated checks before the end of the CRF period of performance end date of December 31, 2022, and ensures that checks are cashed by the beneficiaries, or funds are returned to Treasury. 2. Ensure Navajo Nation management has reversed the $ in subrecipient incurred costs that they determined to be ineligible as a result of their internal investigation. 3. Confirm that Navajo Nation management has reversed $ in duplicate hardship check payments that were fraudulently cashed by tribal citizens and recorded by management within the Aggregate Payments to Individuals payment type in the Cycle 331 GrantSolutions submission. 4. Follow-up on corrective action related to $141,187 in questioned costs reported in Single Audit finding number 2020-009. 5. Follow-up to obtain the status of the Navajo Nation’s 2021 Single Audit. 6. Obtain evidence to verify whether tribal entities are separate legal and tax entities, and based on the information, determine whether Navajo Nation management has properly recorded these transactions in GrantSolutions.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

1-1

Open

Yes

Castro recommends Treasury OIG personnel follow-up with Navajo Nation management and request that missing documentation to support expenditures is provided and necessary corrections are made in the GrantSolutions portal.

2-1

Open

Yes

Based on Navajo Nation’s responsiveness to Treasury OIG’s requests and its ability to provide sufficient documentation, we recommend Treasury OIG personnel determine the feasibility of performing a focused audit for Grants greater than or equal to $50,000, Aggregate Reporting less than $50,000, and Aggregate Payments to Individuals.