Federal Reports

Judy Azar, a medical assistant based in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, on September 24, 2021, to health care fraud, bank fraud, identity theft and tax fraud. Our investigation found that Azar participated in a scheme to defraud health care benefit programs by using false and fraudulent pretenses in connection with the delivery of, and payment for, health care benefits and services.Azar forged a doctor’s signature to fraudulently authorize prescription refills and then sold a portion of the filled prescriptions to interested buyers. The buyers paid Azar with checks made payable to the doctor. Azar then forged the doctor’s signature to endorse the checks, which were then deposited in bank accounts controlled by Azar. As a result of the scheme, Amtrak’s insurance providers were fraudulently charged approximately $13,500.

The objective of our audit was to determine whether Lincoln College of Technology (Lincoln) used the Student Aid (Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425E) and Institutional (ALN 84.425F) portions of its Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) funds for allowable and intended purposes. We also reviewed Lincoln’s cash management practices and the timeliness and quality of the data Lincoln reported on its use of HEERF funds.LESC generally used the Student Aid portion of Lincoln’s HEERF funds for allowable and intended purposes but did not always use the Institutional portion of its funds in accordance with Federal requirements. We found that LESC did not adequately document eligibility determinations for a small number of students who received emergency financial aid grants, improperly applied Institutional grant funds to credit student accounts, improperly charged expenditures that extended beyond the grant performance period, and did not follow cash management requirements.

Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Federal Labor Relations Authority