DOC - Inspector General - Fraud Prevention Presentation - 12-2009

8/8/2019 DOC - Inspector General - Fraud Prevention Presentation - 12-2009

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U.S. DOC Inspector GeneralU.S. DOC Inspector Generalce o nves ga onsce o nves ga ons


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Department of CommerceDepartment of Commercenves ga onsnves ga ons

Welcome

Greetings from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of InspectorGeneral, Office of Investigations. We would like to congratulate you

and your co-workers for winning an award pursuant to the American.

As part of our Recovery Act Oversight Program, we ask that youparticipate in our Fraud Prevention e-training by reviewing the

.

Thank you for your participation.

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Who We Are

Office of Inspector General, primarily staffed with:

Special Agents / Criminal Investigators

Com uter Crimes Unit

Our investigative authority includes pursuing allegations of:

Criminal violations

Civil fraud violations Administrative violations

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Investigative JurisdictionOur investigative jurisdiction includes monitoring all of thefunding (i.e., contracts and grants), programs, and employeesof DOC Headquarters and each of the DOC bureaus:

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Grant frauds Contract frauds

Antitrust violations Embezzlements

Property thefts Conflicts of Interest Bribery, kickbacks False claims & invoices Bank fraud Money laundering

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Identity theft scams


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OIG Recovery Act Authority

The Recovery Act gives our office specific authority to reviewand investigate any concerns regarding the use of DOC

Recovery Act funds. Our OIG agents are authorized to:

Examine all contractor, subcontractor, state or local recordsrelated to Recovery Act funding transactions

Initiate investigations and work in connection with OIG Auditors

Interview employees

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Recovery ActRecovery Actvers g rogramvers g rogram

U.S. DOC/OIG InvestigationsRecovery Act Oversight Program

In response to the Stimulus bill, we developed an oversight

program for DOC which is responsible for:

Monitoring all DOC Recovery Act awards

Providing fraud awareness training to DOC staff working with

ecovery c awar s.

Providing fraud prevention training to contractor and grantrecipients working with DOC Recovery Act awards.

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Recovery ActRecovery Actvers g rogramvers g rogram

Our Pro ram Mission

To work with DOC bureaus and funding

awards are monitored and effectivelyprotected from waste, fraud, and abuse.

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Fraud PreventionFraud Preventionra n ng ra n ng

Fraud Prevention Training Goals

Provide fraud prevention training to funding recipients.

Encourage open communication with agency representatives.

Promote honesty, efficiency and fraud awareness efforts.

awards.

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What is Contract andWhat is Contract andran rauran rau

Contract / Grant Fraud

An act of deceit, trickery or deliberate neglect, committed by afederal funding recipient against the funding agency for the

purpose of gaining something of value.

One or more of the following acts has usually occurred:

Deliberate neglect of procurement rules and guidelines

Deliberate falsification of information

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What is Contract andWhat is Contract andran rauran rau

Contract / Grant Fraud

May be hidden, discreet or completely overt

May involve a large OR small portion of a contract or award

May involve a conspiracy between subcontractors and/orgovernment officials

May be a one-time incident or ongoing matter

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Relevant Criminal andRelevant Criminal andv a u esv a u es

18 U.S.C. 666 Theft or bribery concerning programsreceiving Federal funds

,or records

18 U.S.C. 1001 Statements or entries generally [false

18 U.S.C. 287 False, fictitious or fraudulent claims

. . . defraud United States

15 U.S.C. 1 Sherman Antitrust Act [civil]

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31 U.S.C. 3729 Civil False Claims Act


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GRANT FRAUD

A NIST Advanced Technologyrogram rec p en was conv c e or

misapplying approximately$500,000 of grant funds to pay forpersonal expenses, including rent,home renovations, cleaningservices, restaurant meals, andmiscellaneous household items.

Four officials of an EDA RevolvingLoan Fund program were convictedof fraud, conspiracy and money

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aun er ng a er conver ng near y$800,000 to their personal use.


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CONTRACT FRAUD

The CEO of a corporate entity under

false claims for submitting invoicesunder a Buy America program,

certifying U.S. origin of productssu lied when in fact the roductsoriginated in China.

The CEO of a company participating in

convicted of wire fraud for submittingfalse bids from non-existent companies,the purpose of which was to fix prices

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.


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Please consider ourPlease consider our

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Tips for Keeping it SafeTips for Keeping it Safe

Follow government rules,regulations, and guidelines

Promote efficiency, honesty,and professionalism

Act in good faith

Ask questionsdo not

Maintain fraud preventionrefresher training

assume the answers

Report accurate information

Provide employees with acopy of contracting rulesand regulations

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Tips for Keeping it SafeTips for Keeping it Safe

Avoid gray areasor risky situations

with subcontractors

Stay organized

Report any problems timely

Require full disclosurefrom employees andsubcontractors Communicate openly and

often with our a enc

Reward employees foridentifying projectweaknesses, waste,

representative

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,


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Red Flags a.k.a.Red Flags a.k.a.

THINGSTHINGS NOTNOT TO DOTO DO

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PREPRE--AWARDAWARDTHINGSTHINGS NOTNOT TO DOTO DO

Bid riggingbidding

arrangements are NEVER

Defective and inflated pricing

Price fixing and/or pricinga reements

aares

Consultants

Equipment

Scams and fraudulentagreements with

oo s an serv ces

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su con rac ors


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PREPRE--AWARDAWARDTHINGSTHINGS NOTNOT TO DOTO DO

Offer bribes, gifts, or

gratuities to governmentofficials

Embellishmentunrealistic

performance goals andro osed romises

Give false or misleadingproposal information

Double dipcompete forwork identical to another

Withhold information whichis required on proposals

from another federal agency.

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POSTPOST--AWARDAWARDTHINGSTHINGS NOTNOT TO DOTO DO

Double billing Deliberate product overage

Poor accounting system

Shifting costs often from onecate or or cost account to

Deliberate accounting error another without approval

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Embezzlement of project

funds or equipment

Unauthorized travel costs

Misappropriation of projectfunds or equipment

Less than arms lengthtransactions

Deliberate waste of projectfunds, equipment andresources

Use of fictitious vendors

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Give unauthorized

personnel access

Maintain ghost employees

Maintain underqualifiedpersonnel

Conduct unauthorizedchanges to personnel

Falsify time and attendancerecords

a n a n na equa e n ernacontrols (e.g., one personhandling everything)

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Co-mingle projects Mislead government

contracting/program officials nappropr a e use o cas

Alter or destroy documents

Mislead auditors/inspectors

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Claim ignorance of rules Interpret rules to your benefitor satisfaction

Attempt to convince agencyrepresentatives to change orignore the rules

Neglect or circumventBuy American provisionsunless authorized in writing

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The Golden Rule of Fraud Prevention

WHEN IN DOUBT.DONT DO IT.

appropriate guidance.

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Did ou know

Every person working on Recovery Act funded

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Whistleblower ProtectionRecovery ActThe Recover Act rovides ex licit rotections for nonfederalwhistleblowers. These protections apply to all contractor and granteestaff working on Recovery Act awards. The Act prohibits fundingrecipients from discharging, demoting or discriminating against any

employee for disclosing any concern to their supervisor, the head of afederal agency or his/her representatives, or the OIG information that theemployee believes is evidence of:

Gross mismana ement or waste of rant or contract funds.

Danger to public health or safety related to the use of funds. Abuse of authority related to the implementation or use of funds.

Violation of law, rule or regulation related to an agency contract or grant

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Whistleblower ProtectionOIG Responsibilities

Investigate all whistleblower complaints related to Recovery Act fundsthat are not frivolous or being addressed by another official proceeding.

Report of our findings to the complainant, complainants employer, headof DOC and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board within180 days (extensions may be applied for).

Provide a written explanation to complainants and their employers if wedecline to pursue a whistleblower allegation.

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Whistleblower ProtectionOIG Responsibilities

Uphold the Privacy Actby NOT disclosing information aboutcomplainants, except where required by law or court order.

Provide information in our semi-annual reports to Congress to include: Investigations we declined to pursue and

Investigations requiring a time extension

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1. You discover that a co-worker submitted false

government agency.

representative

b Confront the em lo ee

c) Do nothing

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2. A subcontractor employee tells you he

upper management at your company and the

subcontractors company.a) Ignore it - its probably just a rumor

b Contact the OIG

c) Contact your agency representative

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3. You believe a product/deliverable your

what is supposed to be provided.

b) Contact your Congressman

c u your o ou o rus ra ond) Contact the OIG and your agency

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4. You believe that your company is charging.

a) Contact the OIG

b) Contact your agency representative

c) All of the above

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5. Your manager tells you the governments,

look like were doing what they want.

b) Contact the OIG

c on ac your agency represen a ved) B and C

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7. Your manager demotes you for inquiring

Recovery Act award.

b) Contact the OIG as a whistleblower

c e a awsud) Do nothing

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8. You believe your company is co-mingling the

agencies.

b) Start a rumor within the company

c on ac e pressd) Contact your agency representative

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9. You are asked to charge work hours to a

work on.

b) Contact the OIG and your agencyre resentative

c) Write your congressman

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10. You believe your company is asking the

necessary for the project.

b) Contact the OIG

c on ac ed) A & B

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PROTECT YOURTAX DOLLARS!AX DOLLARS!Americans are counting onyou to be responsible withRecovery Act funding. Werely on your judgment,

to keep us informed, so wemay protect our programs!

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Please be on the lookout forPlease be on the lookout for

ANYTHING that indicates,

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OIG HOTLINEPhone: (800) 424-5497hone: (800) 424 5497

Fax: (202) 482-2803Email: [email protected]

U.S. Department of CommerceOffice of Inspector General For more information

Office of InvestigationsRecovery Act Oversight Program(202) 482-0934

please visit our websitewww.oig.doc.gov

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(202) 482 0934


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Thank you for your participation.

You have completed the

Fraud Prevention e-training.

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DOC - Inspector General - Fraud Prevention Presentation - 12-2009

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