As we noted in an earlier post, the incentives regarding fraud differ widely in the public and private sectors. Fraud is not the worst thing for a government agency, the discovery of it is.
So fraud enforcement is habitually under-funded and staffed. Thus, no surprise that "...no one at IRS had examined teleconferencing-related charges for unusual charges or potential waste and improper use," according to a recent report, and that, unwatched, employees abused their privileges:
On one
calling card alone, an employee charged $59,000 for improper overseas
calls made over a 12-month period in 2007 and 2008, according to the
report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The
report offered no estimate of the total amount of money wasted in
improper use of the calling cards.
...$8.4 million was charged to IRS calling cards between October 2005 and April 2008. IRS employees primarily use the cards to dial into teleconferences, accounting for $7.4 million of that spending....no one at IRS had examined teleconferencing-related charges for unusual charges or potential waste and improper use, the report states. IRS hasn’t validated its calling card inventory in more than three years, the report states. It analyzes one month of telephone call activity every quarter, and the report concludes that isn’t enough to prevent fraud.
On one
calling card alone, an employee charged $59,000 for improper overseas
calls made over a 12-month period in 2007 and 2008, according to the
report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The
report offered no estimate of the total amount of money wasted in
improper use of the calling cards....$8.4 million was charged to IRS calling cards between October 2005 and April 2008. IRS employees primarily use the cards to dial into teleconferences, accounting for $7.4 million of that spending....no one at IRS had examined teleconferencing-related charges for unusual charges or potential waste and improper use, the report states. IRS hasn’t validated its calling card inventory in more than three years, the report states. It analyzes one month of telephone call activity every quarter, and the report concludes that isn’t enough to prevent fraud.
Do you know about a case of fraud that's too small for an IG to investigate, or wouldn't merit a report in the Federal Times? Report it here.
The truth will set us free. People behave better when they know people are watching.
The truth will set us free. People behave better when they know people are watching.
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