NEW: Government Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Eight States
The following is a compilation of government waste, fraud, abuse, theft, and crony capitalism that took place throughout the United States the previous week.
• California: Visit Anaheim CEO Jay Burress allegedly diverted $1.5 million in taxpayer-funded COVID-19 relief money to an Anaheim Chamber of Commerce nonprofit. This is according to The Orange County Register, which reported that Burress resigned from his job leading the tourism agency.
• Connecticut: The state Judicial Branch paid nearly $22,000 in overtime and compensatory time to employees, according to The Stamford Advocate, which cited a new state audit. The employees didn’t have prior approval from a supervisor.
• Florida: Miami-Dade’s new human resources software contributed to a payroll mess for county employees, according to The Miami Herald, which cited a recent audit. The audit found lax oversight of raises and more than $3 million in over payments that could go decades before they’re fully reimbursed.
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• Indiana: A former Indiana sheriff allegedly used employees on the clock for the county to work on his personal and business properties, according to Louisville Public Media. Elsewhere in the state, the Indiana Attorney General’s office has filed a civil lawsuit against a former Carmel school employee who “knowingly, intentionally, and wrongfully diverted funds in the total of $205,002.” This is according to the Indianapolis-based WRTV.
• Kentucky: Louisville might give more than $114 million in tax incentives to One Park Place, a development that would include 700 apartments or condos, offices and retail and restaurant spaces. The Louisville-based WLKY reportedthat “One Park Place could be Louisville’s biggest, most expensive and most controversial development of its kind.”
• Louisiana: Authorities accuse a woman of stealing more than $23,000 from a school in Calcasieu Parish, according to the Lake Charles-based KPLC. School employee Anna B. Theriot, 37 allegedly stole more than $23,000 through unauthorized transactions, cash disbursements, and forging checks, the station reported. Elsewhere in the state, a West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office employee stole cash paid for traffic tickets. She hid the thefts by recording fraudulent journal entries in the Sheriff’s Office accounting system, according to the Shore News Networks.
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• Michigan: LG Energy Solutions announced plans to lay off 170 employees at its Holland plant. “The news comes after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced in March 2022 the state’s commitment to give up to $189 million in corporate welfare to the electric vehicle battery maker,” according to Michigan Capitol Confidential.
• New York: The former mayor of Utica and former president of the city’s school board, and the city school district’s longtime superintendent have been arrested and accused of using taxpayer money for political campaigns and a fundraiser not connected with the school. This is according to Spectrum News 1.
Special thanks to Warhammer’s Wife for research and for proofreading this story before publication. Follow Warhammer on Twitter @Real_Warhammer
