Civil Division

Investigations

The following is an example of a case that the OIG’s Investigations Division investigated during this reporting period:

Civil Rights Division

Ongoing Work

Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws by the Voting Section

The OIG is reviewing the enforcement of civil rights laws by the Voting Section of the Department’s Civil Rights Division. The review is examining the types of cases brought by the Voting Section and any changes in the types of cases over time; any changes in Voting Section enforcement policies or procedures over time; whether the Voting Section has enforced the civil rights laws in a non-discriminatory manner; and whether any Voting Section employees have been harassed for participating in the investigation or prosecution of particular matters.

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

Reports Issued

Audits of COPS Grants

COPS awards grants to state, local, territory, and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire and train community policing professionals, acquire and deploy crime-fighting technologies, and develop and test policing strategies. During this reporting period, we audited four external COPS grants recipients. The results of those audits are summarized below:

• The OIG audited a $607,945 Technology Program Grant awarded to the Corcoran Police Department (Corcoran) in Kings County, California, from funds earmarked in the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act to fund “law enforcement technologies and interoperable communications program.” Corcoran requested funding and subsequently received the COPS technology grant award to pay the salaries and fringe benefits for four police officers that would be re-assigned to work on the Kings County Narcotics Task Force. As of February 2011, $599,523 (99 percent) of grant funds were spent on the salaries and fringe benefits of the four officers, the purchase of one radio, and some ammunition. The OIG believes that COPS did not act in accordance with the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act when it awarded technology funds to pay for police officer salaries and fringe benefits. Because COPS approved grant funds for a use not encompassed by the statute authorizing the program, the OIG recommended that COPS establish a process to ensure that it approves only grant applications that comply with related funding legislation. Based on the findings relating to Corcoran and its sub-recipients, we questioned $321,829 and made 12 additional recommendations for COPS to ensure that Corcoran strengthen its internal controls. COPS agreed with our recommendations.
  
  
• The OIG audited nearly $3.5 million in COPS Technology Program grants awarded from 2005 to 2009 to the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico (City), to upgrade communications and computer equipment for the Albuquerque Police Department’s Comprehensive Information Systems Project. All of the grants were earmarks, awarded through Congressional appropriations, and without regard to unresolved OIG audit findings. At the time of our audit, the City was considered high risk and barred from receiving COPS grants from September 2010 to September 2014 due to supplanting. The OIG identified instances of poor accounting practices, identified $99,423 in questioned costs and indications of supplanting in wages and fringe benefits, and made 11 recommendations for COPS to ensure that the City implement appropriate procedures, controls, and policies to fulfill grant requirements and remedy questioned costs. COPS concurred with our recommendations and is working with the City to implement the recommendations.
  
  
• The OIG audited a $746,934 Technology Program Grant awarded to the Township of Kalamazoo, Michigan, to assist with the purchase and installation of a radio tower to enhance communications in areas that have poor, or in some cases, no radio coverage. The OIG found minor instances of noncompliance with regard to COPS grant requirements, including that Kalamazoo Township lacked a policy to regularly change passwords for its automated accounting system; its 2008 and 2009 progress reports were filed 19 and 3 days late, respectively; its property records did not identify as federally funded equipment that was purchased with federal funds; and it lacks a formalized policy for accountable property. The OIG made four recommendations, which COPS agreed with and which the grantee has taken steps to implement.
  
  
• The OIG audited a $250,000 Technology Program Grant awarded to the Sherwood Police Department (Sherwood) in Sherwood, Oregon, for the purpose of establishing a local interoperable wireless communications network. Overall, the audit found that Sherwood adequately maintained grant-related financial records and properly managed the use of grant funds. However, the OIG found that Sherwood’s Delegation of Contracting Authority was outdated and that Sherwood lacked a comprehensive implementation plan for how it planned to complete the installation of the interoperable wireless communications network before the grant expired. The OIG made two recommendations. COPS and Sherwood concurred with the OIG’s recommendations and are taking appropriate actions to implement the recommendations.

Investigations

The following is an example of a case that the OIG’s Investigations Division investigated during this reporting period:

• On July 28, 2011, Zachary Hannan and his company Prime Distribution LLC were issued formal suspension notices from the Senior Procurement Executive at JMD and proposed for debarment from contracting with any federal agency and from receiving any federal grants. Hannan previously pled guilty to charges of misapplication of federal grant funds and making false statements and was sentenced in the Southern District of Illinois to 12 months plus one day of incarceration. Hannan reimbursed the county $71,333 for the missing grant funds prior to his indictment. The investigation of this matter was conducted by the OIG’s Chicago Field Office and the FBI.

Criminal Division

Reports Issued

Equitable Sharing Audits

Under the Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program, state and local law enforcement agencies receive equitable sharing assets when participating directly with the Department’s law enforcement components in joint investigations that lead to the seizure or forfeiture of cash and property. Equitable sharing revenues represent a share of the proceeds from the forfeiture of assets seized in the course of certain criminal investigations.

During this reporting period, the OIG examined equitable sharing revenues received by four law enforcement agencies. The results of two of these audits follow:

• The Department of Police of Montgomery County, Maryland (MCPD), received over $270,000 during the 2-year period beginning July 2008 and ending June 2010 as a participant in the Department’s equitable sharing program. The OIG found that the MCPD did not adequately account for or track $27,998 received in FY 2010 and understated its expenditures in its FY 2010 Agreement and Certification Form by approximately $36,800. The audit identified $20,199 in questioned costs that were unallowable under Department equitable sharing guidelines. The OIG made five recommendations for the Criminal Division to ensure that MCPD correct weaknesses in its procedures and remedy questioned costs. The MCPD and the Criminal Division agreed with the OIG’s recommendations.
  
  
• The Police Department of Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland PD), received $256,496 in equitable sharing revenues for calendar year 2009 to support law enforcement operations. While the OIG found that the Cleveland PD generally complied with equitable sharing guidelines, the audit identified expenditures for college courses not specifically related to law enforcement, and as a result, the audit reported $5,971 in questioned costs. In addition, the audit found that the Cleveland PD did not accurately report all interest income and commingled some of its Department equitable sharing funds with equitable sharing funds from the Treasury. The OIG recommended that the Criminal Division ensure that the Cleveland PD file accurate and timely reports and separately account for Department and Treasury equitable sharing funds. The Criminal Division agreed with our recommendations, is working with the Cleveland PD to improve its procedures, and has requested that the Cleveland PD refund $5,971 to its equitable sharing account.

Ongoing Work

Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program

The Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT), and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) provide training and technical assistance to foreign countries’ prosecutors, judicial personnel, and law enforcement personnel. The OIG is reviewing the programs’ controls and practices related to funding, security, travel, and reimbursable agreements, as well as the programs’ coordination with other U.S. agencies and foreign components.

Environment and Natural Resources Division

Reports Issued

Superfund Activities for FYs 2009 through 2010

The OIG’s Audit Division examined the Department’s Superfund activities in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) for FY 2009 through FY 2010. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (known as CERCLA or Superfund), which was expanded by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, established the Superfund program to clean up the nation’s worst hazardous waste sites. The OIG conducted this audit to determine if the cost allocation process used by ENRD and its contractor provided an equitable distribution of total labor costs, other direct costs, and indirect costs to Superfund cases during FY 2009 through FY 2010.

Based on the results of the audit, the OIG concluded that ENRD provided an equitable distribution of total labor costs, other direct costs, and indirect costs to Superfund cases. However, during the comparison of costs reported by the contractor and those recorded in the Department’s accounting records, the OIG found that ENRD did not maintain copies of all data it provided to the contractor, including initial financial data, and correspondence and reconciliations made between ENRD and the contractor.

The OIG recommended that ENRD develop processes to maintain documentation in order to provide complete support for the Superfund allocation processes and aid in the reconciliation of ENRD and contractor data. ENRD agreed with the recommendations.

Executive Office for Immigration Review

Ongoing Work

Administration of Immigration Courts

The OIG is examining the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) efforts to manage the pending caseload in its immigration courts. This includes analyzing characteristics of the caseload, such as case types and case ages, along with evaluating case processing methodology. The OIG will also report on EOIR’s implementation of reform measures designed to improve the performance of immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals.

U.S. Attorneys’ Offices

Investigations

The following is an example of a case that the OIG’s Investigations Division investigated during this reporting period:

• An investigation by the OIG’s Dallas Field Office determined that a legal assistant assigned to a USAO made unauthorized disclosures of law enforcement sensitive information. The legal assistant resigned her employment from the USAO.

Office on Violence Against Women

Reports Issued

Audits of OVW Grants

The OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country for the development of programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. OVW recipients include state and local governments, universities, non-profit agencies, and for-profit agencies. The following audit was conducted during this reporting period:

• The OIG audited over $1.3 million in OVW grants to Jane Doe, Inc., also known as the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. The awards covered four grants for victim services, training for law enforcement, programs for victim advocates, and creating jobs. The audit identified numerous internal control weaknesses, including unsupported and unallowable payroll expenditures, unallowable bonus payments, and unallowable and unreasonable conference expenditures. In addition, a contractor performing grant funded services was not effectively monitored and Jane Doe did not comply with all of the grants’ special conditions. Because of these deficiencies, the OIG questioned $638,298, or about 47 percent, of the grant funds and made 11 recommendations to improve the grantee’s internal controls and remedy questioned costs. OVW agreed with the recommendations and is working with Jane Doe, Inc., to implement the recommendations.

Investigations

The following is an example of a case that the OIG’s Investigations Division investigated during this reporting period:

• The former executive director of a Department grantee was arrested pursuant to an indictment charging her with theft from a program receiving federal funds. The indictment alleged that between May 31, 2005, and August 5, 2010, the former executive director received 36 payroll advances and failed to pay back $12,960.98, and that the former executive director converted Department grant funds for travel-related expenses for herself or her friends and family. This investigation was conducted by the OIG’s Denver Field Office.