Investigative Reports

We investigated allegations that a National Park Service (NPS) supervisor took Government property for personal use and misused her official position. The NPS subsequently notified us that one of the supervisor’s subordinate employees also took Government computer equipment for personal use.We found that the NPS supervisor and two subordinate employees took Government property for personal use. We also found that the NPS supervisor misused two subordinates’ official time by directing them to perform work on her personal property for her personal benefit. Lastly, we found that park officials did not ensure that the subordinate employees received mandatory property disposal training.The NPS supervisor admitted guilt of felony theft and was accepted into a diversion program that, if successfully completed, would lead to dismissal of a felony theft charge. Based on that charge and an interim report of our findings, the NPS subsequently issued the supervisor a 14 calendar-day suspension without pay. She paid the NPS $3,964 in restitution.

We investigated allegations that an oil and gas production company claimed improper allowances for offshore Federal mineral leases in the Pacific Ocean. The company submitted royalty refund requests to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) for previously unclaimed oil and gas transportation allowances and gas processing allowances. The royalty refund requests raised suspicion at ONRR because the company had not claimed such allowances previously and because the royalty refund requests covered the regulatory maximum allowable period of 6 years.We found the company’s royalty refund requests were incorrect and poorly documented; however, we found no evidence the company intended to deceive or defraud ONRR. We found the company submitted claims on incorrect forms, improperly designated expenses associated with a pipeline it owned, and failed to provide ONRR with source documents that fully supported its royalty refund requests.We also found that the company owes unpaid mineral royalties to ONRR. The company reduced current Federal mineral royalty payments submitted to ONRR in an attempt to recoup funds included in its prior requests in anticipation that ONRR would eventually approve its claims for payment. As of April 2021, ONRR had denied the company’s royalty refund requests pending further review, and ONRR is continuing to work with the company to either approve the refund claims or recover any unpaid Federal mineral royalties.

The OIG investigated allegations that a Bureau of Indian Education employee improperly used school funds to update classrooms. We also investigated allegations that the employee personally benefitted from the renovation projects by improperly influencing the award of a Federal contract to their spouse to perform the interior design work for the projects.We did not substantiate the allegations that the employee used their position in an improper manner or that the employee or the employee’s spouse personally benefitted from any of the classroom renovation work that was completed. We confirmed that the school did not award any Federal contracts for the renovation projects. We also found no evidence the renovation projects violated school policies or Federal regulations.

DOL-OIG Investigations Newsletter Vol. XXXIII for the period of February 1 - March 31, 2021

An Amtrak Specialist based in Philadelphia was issued a letter of warning on May 4, 2021, for violating company policies by admittedly posting inappropriate and offensive images on her Facebook account that publicly identified her as an Amtrak employee, in violation of company policy.

A Yard Conductor based in Washington, D.C., was terminated on April 29, 2021, for excessive consecutive days of absence without authority. The employee was arrested on April 6, 2021, and remained in custody for at least a week on several charges. The case is pending in the United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Contractor approved temporary living allowance (TLA) for contract employee based on a claim of permanent residence when the residence claimed was actually owned by the contract employee’s father and rented at a low monthly rate that was paid sporadically. The contract between TVA and the contractor explicitly forbids the approval of TLA when the arrangement for the residence claimed is not part of an “arm’s length” transaction. The contractor was aware of its employee’s rental arrangement with his father and, yet, approved the payment of TLA which was subsequently billed to TVA.

Ryan Kane, a resident of Pennsylvania, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, to time served, three years supervised release, and a $100 special assessment for his part in an Amtrak ticket fraud scheme. As part of his sentence, Kane was ordered to pay $124,544 in restitution; $35,000 of which is owed solely by Kane and $89,544 of which is owed jointly with co-conspirator Christian Newby. As a condition of his release, Kane was sentenced to 12 months of home detention with electronic monitoring. Kane previously pleaded guilty to theft of government funds after our investigation found that he participated in a scheme to defraud Amtrak and others by using stolen credit card information from more than 10 credit cards to purchase Amtrak tickets online.

The OIG investigated allegations that a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) superintendent and one of the superintendent’s coworkers influenced the award of a subcontract on a BIE contract to a business owned by a family member of the superintendent. We also investigated allegations that the superintendent instructed other BIE employees to perform work for the family member’s business while on duty.We found no evidence the superintendent directly influenced the award of the contract because we found no evidence that the prime contractor had substantive contact with the superintendent before selecting subcontractors. We did find, however, that the superintendent’s coworker included the family member’s company on a list of recommended subcontractors sent to the prime contractor, which violated standing guidance. This failure may have contributed to an appearance of improper influence.We confirmed that BIE employees assisted subcontractors with tasks at the project site but did not find evidence that, in allowing this, the superintendent’s position was misused to benefit the family member’s business.

The OIG conducted a joint investigation with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General into allegations that a tribal transportation consortium fraudulently received more than $9 million between 2012 and 2015 by collecting Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Roads Funds for tribes no longer affiliated with the consortium.We did not substantiate the allegations. We identified 24 tribes that were members of the consortium, and none of the representatives we spoke to corroborated the allegations. None of the representatives from tribes that had withdrawn from the consortium provided evidence that the consortium continued to collect their tribe’s BIA Roads Funds after they left.The consortium is a defunct entity and has not received BIA Roads Funds since 2015.

The OIG investigated allegations that a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) acted as a pass-through entity to enable another company to obtain SDVOSB contracts that it was not eligible to receive. It was further alleged that the veteran identified as the SDVOSB’s owner had little or no involvement in the day-to-day operation of the SDVOSB.We found that the SDVOSB and the other company used the SDVOSB’s status to obtain approximately $3.5 million in U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) SDVOSB contracts, which the other company would not otherwise have been eligible to receive. The SDVOSB shared the large company’s office space, support services, and staff, which were in Arizona, even though the SDVOSB was based outside of Arizona. Further, both the SDVOSB and the other company registered or updated System of Award Management profile records on the same days, using the same unique IP address. We also found no evidence that the SDVOSB’s veteran owner, who resided outside of Arizona, was involved in the day-to-day operations of the SDVOSB, even though this is a requirement to receive SDVOSB status.The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Arizona declined both criminal and civil prosecution of this matter. We have referred both the SDVOSB and the other company to our Administrative Remedies Division for consideration of suspension or debarment.