A Newfoundland and Labrador investigation uncovered more than $600,000 in personal expenses charged to taxpayer-funded credit cards since 2015..Hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal purchases and cash withdrawals was racked up by public employees in the Newfoundland and Labrador government using government-issued credit cards in the last seven years..Internal documents obtained by CBC News show extensive details on the enormity and scope of alleged fraud committed by public servants. The abuses were first revealed in the January auditor general’s annual report..“There were potentially fraudulent incidents involving government employees, such as falsely representing credentials, personal use of corporate credit cards, or inappropriate use of government resources,” wrote Auditor General Denise Hanrahan..“In some cases, employees were terminated as a result of investigations conducted. Generally, these incidents were not reported to the police, but handled internally through disciplinary processes.”.Hanrahan’s audit did not say exactly how much money is involved, but she did say the money had been repaid overall and that the province hasn’t suffered a loss as a result..However, a briefing note prepared for the executive council and obtained by CBC News through an access-to-information request reveals those amounts:.In October 2020, the executive council flagged the personal services and internal audit division that an employee had withdrawn $131,631 in personal cash advances over an unspecified period of time. The employee was fired and monies repaid..The next year, an employee from the same department was reported for having charged nearly $5,000 on a corporate card for personal use. In that case, the person kept their job, but was disciplined..Seven employees of the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture allegedly raked up in excess of $170,000 altogether using government credit cards for cash advances and charges between January 2015 and October 2020..The employee with the highest debt had a balance of over $54,000 on their corporate card. The other employees had balances of between $7,878 and $44,962 on their respective cards..An investigation into nine employees of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure between 2015 and 2020 revealed they collectively put more than $200,000 on their credit cards. One employee put more than $37,000 on their travel card for personal spending or cash advances..The balances were repaid at the outset of the investigation, the document said. Some people had their wages garnished to settle what they owed. .Expenses fraud is not unusual in government departments and big corporations, according to Dave Oswald, director of the Ontario-based Forensic Restitution, an accounting and fraud investigation company that specializes in white-collar crime..Oswald said there needed to be better safeguards in place to ensure misuse of corporate credit cards never again reaches fraudulence of this magnitude..“It gets to that point because there isn’t adequate control,” said Oswald, who reviewed the documents garnered by CBC News..“You’re always going to get some form of fraud going through. But if you use data analytics, if you review all of your expenses, if you have a system for reviewing the expenses, then you’ll curtail the amount of fraud drastically.”.In an email responding to questions from the news outlet, NL Finance Minister Siobhan Coady said enhanced control measures have been added to improve oversight on card usage..Amanda Brown is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.abrown@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter: @WS_JournoAmanda
