Federal Reports

Peter Port, a resident of Palm Beach County, Florida, pleaded guilty on May 10, 2023, in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, to Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud. Port owned and controlled Safe Haven, a substance abuse center, which was purportedly in the business of providing clinical treatment for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction.Our investigation found that Port and others paid kickbacks and bribes in the form of cash, free or reduced sober homes rent, and other benefits to individuals who agreed to be patients at Safe Haven. Fraudulent claims were subsequently submitted to insurance plans for unnecessary urine testing and addiction treatment services that were not provided. As a result of the scheme, Amtrak’s insurance providers were fraudulently charged approximately $86,130. Port and three co-defendants will be sentenced at a future date.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act appropriated about $17.2 billion in supplemental funds to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to support VA’s efforts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The OIG conducted this audit to assess the effectiveness of VA’s controls over VHA’s use of these funds.Because VA’s financial management system does not support the direct obligation of supplemental funds for all expenses, staff used expenditure transfers to shift funds between appropriation accounts. Expenditure transfers are documented using journal vouchers, which are written documents explaining the purpose and details of the transaction. However, as VHA did not develop guidance for the type of documentation required, staff did not always sufficiently prepare the vouchers. As a result, staff could not always identify what was purchased or provide evidence the purchase was a proper use of CARES Act funds.Further, even when medical staff directly obligated from the CARES Act fund, they did not always (a) have documented purchase authority, (b) segregate duties, (c) properly track the receipt of goods to ensure the quantities ordered were received, or (d) properly certify and pay invoices. This occurred because VHA did not develop guidance with protocols for accounting processes and procedures or outline clear roles and expectations for the oversight of supplemental funds purchases. As a result, the OIG questioned an estimated $187.2 million.Until VHA strengthens controls over payments, it cannot be sure that payments have been properly made. Further, Congress lacks reasonable assurance that funds allocated for veterans’ COVID-19-related care are being spent as intended. The OIG recommended VA assess whether it can integrate its financial management system with other systems to reduce the need for expenditure transfers; the OIG also made eight recommendations to VHA to improve oversight of supplemental funds.

Ketrick Barron, a former Amtrak General Foreman, based in Washington, D.C., was sentenced on May 9, 2023, to three years’ probation and ordered to pay restitution of $6,580 to Amtrak. On February 21, 2023, Barron pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, to one misdemeanor count of Theft of Government Property related to his use of a General Services Administration fuel card issued to Amtrak to fuel personal vehicles at a cost of approximately $6,580.20.