Federal Reports

The OIG investigated allegations that employees of Energy Resource Technology, Inc. (ERT) falsified Blowout Preventer (BOP) pressure test charts and engaged in unsafe welding operations while conducting oil and gas activities aboard an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico.We found that the ERT manager on the platform, Race Addington, concealed a failed pressure test from Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) officials and directed offshore worker Kenneth Johns and another ERT employee to fabricate a false BOP pressure test chart. We also found that an ERT supervisor on the platform directed that welding operations be performed near an active and flowing well, which violated BSEE safety regulations.Addington, Johns, and ERT were criminally charged for their actions by the United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana. Addington pled guilty to two counts of false statements and was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and 40 hours of community service. Johns pled guilty to one count of false statements and was sentenced to 24 months of probation and fined $750. ERT was sentenced to 36 months of probation, fined $4 million, and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution.

Three employees were terminated from employment on April 25, 2018, for violating company policy by using improperly obtained parking passes to avoid paying parking fees at Chicago Union Station and for not fully cooperating with OIG agents.

Cahaba Government Benefits Administrators, LLC, overstated the Medicare segment pension assets as of January 1, 2014, by $622,074.

The Office of the Inspector General conducted a review of Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN) Site Security to identify operational and cultural strengths and risks that could impact BFN Site Security’s organizational effectiveness. Our report identified strengths within BFN Site Security related to (1) organizational alignment, (2) teamwork within departments, and (3) direct management support of employees. However, we also identified risks related to (1) ineffective leadership above first-line leaders due to inadequate communication, lack of individual accountability, insufficient management support, and noninclusive behaviors; (2) lack of collaboration between departments within BFN Site Security; (3) ineffective work management processes; and (4) perceptions of unethical behaviors.