Unfounded Allegations of Theft, Kickbacks, and Contractor Collusion at BIA Facility

The OIG investigated allegations that two Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) employees sold stolen BIA equipment to a contractor, and that another BIA employee provided sensitive procurement information to a contractor in exchange for kickbacks. We found no evidence to support either allegation. Regarding the first allegation, the BIA facility did not have a tracking system in place during the time of the alleged theft, so we could not determine whether BIA owned the property alleged to have been stolen. The BIA employees and the contractor denied the theft and a search of the contractor’s premises did not identify any Government property. Since the time of the alleged theft, the BIA facility has updated its property management system. Regarding the second allegation, both the BIA employee and the contractor denied the allegation of collusion and kickbacks, and we did not locate any witnesses or records to corroborate the allegation.