Investigative Reports

The OIG investigated allegations that independent Government contractors colluded on bids for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hay delivery contracts, that a BLM employee who was related to one of the contractors influenced the awards to benefit the relative, and that the contractors added weight to hay deliveries by watering the hay before delivering it to the BLM on contracts paid by the ton.We substantiated that one contractor assisted another contractor with bid packages for five separate contract solicitations from 2016 to 2019, but the evidence did not establish that they intended to work together on the contracts or that they discussed or developed the pricing component of their independent bids. BLM contract personnel detected the similarities between the bid packages before award and excluded both contractors from the contracts in question.We found no evidence the BLM employee attempted to influence the awards to benefit a relative. We also found no evidence that the contractors added weight to hay deliveries to the BLM.

We investigated an allegation that a senior USGS manager retaliated against a subordinate employee because the employee had participated in another investigation against him.We determined that the employee’s role in the other investigation against the senior manager constituted protected activity, but the evidence did not show that the senior manager knew of the employee’s involvement in that investigation. Accordingly, the evidence did not support a finding that the senior manager retaliated against the employee in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

The OIG investigated allegations that a salable mineral known as caliche was improperly removed from the construction site of a school built on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land that was conveyed to the school district through a recreation and public purposes lease. The U.S. Government retains the mineral rights in this type of lease and must be compensated if salable minerals are removed.We found that the BLM was aware of the alleged theft for more than 4 years but failed to resolve the complainant’s allegations. Furthermore, we believe the BLM may have violated the National Environmental Policy Act because we found no evidence the BLM completed a required mineral potential report as part of an environmental assessment. This step should have identified caliche as a salable mineral and alerted the BLM to the need to review its proposed disposition before the lease was signed.Our investigation also confirmed that a subcontractor retained by the school removed caliche from the construction site. The BLM, however, did not receive payment, and the Government incurred an estimated loss of $195,976. As a result of our investigation, and more than 4 years after the original complaint was made, the BLM issued a trespass notice to the subcontractor to resolve the unauthorized removal of caliche.Finally, we determined the BLM may have violated Federal regulations when it conveyed 41.24 acres of Federal land to the school district, even though the school intended to use only about 10 acres and had no plans to expand.We presented our investigative findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, which declined to prosecute the matter.

Statistics on employee integrity investigation cases closed during the semiannual reporting period for FY 2018, as well as summaries of the cases.

Statistics on employee integrity investigation cases closed during the semiannual reporting period for FY 2019, as well as summaries of the cases.

Statistics on employee integrity investigation cases closed during the semiannual reporting period for FY 2020, as well as summaries of the cases.

Statistics on employee integrity investigation cases closed during the semiannual reporting period for FY 2017, as well as summaries of the cases.

A Senior Engineer was arrested on March 8, 2021, for theft of Amtrak property and terminated from employment the following day. From approximately August 2016 through July 2020, the employee is alleged to have stolen approximately 77 chainsaws, approximately 103 chainsaw replacement bars, and approximately 163 replacement chains. He sold the majority of the Amtrak chainsaws and parts using an online auction service. The investigation is ongoing and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey.

OIG Investigations Newsletter Volume XXXII for the period of December 1, 2020 - January 31, 2021

This investigation was initiated based on a Postal Service employee's allegations of voter fraud in a video.

The OIG investigated allegations that a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) employee working at a refuge stole copper wiring and a bulldozer.We found that the employee removed copper from the former military facilities at the refuge and sold it for less than $5,000 during the last 10 years. We did not find evidence that the employee converted a Government-owned bulldozer for personal use or financial gain.We presented our interim findings to the FWS, and the employee was subsequently removed from Federal service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined prosecution.

We investigated allegations that a tribal non-profit organization misused $50,000 it received for a 3-day training conference. It received the funds from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) through a cooperative agreement.We did not find any evidence of misuse of funds or of false claims and determined the organization used the full amount of the cooperative agreement to cover costs associated with the training conference.