On May 1, City Auditor Laura Doud released her annual Fraud Hotline Activity Report, which highlighted the City’s fraud-hotline operations, investigations and 21 corrective-action recommendations as a result of the 76 cases closed in 2018.
“City fraud, waste and abuse affects all of us and reduces resources for important city services, including public safety, street repairs, libraries and parks,” Doud said in a City press release Wednesday morning. “This is why my office continuously works to deter and detect fraud against the City of Long Beach.”
Of the 76 cases closed in 2018, the Report highlights the top fraud tip types, such as:
1. Waste or abuse of City resources
2. City payroll fraud
3. City contract or vendor fraud
According to the City, for every tip received through the city auditor’s fraud hotline, the office creates a case and conducts analysis to determine if there is sufficient basis to investigate. Of the 76 cases closed in 2018, 47 percent were related to City fraud, waste or abuse, had sufficient basis and were investigated by the office or in conjunction with a City department.
As a result of the investigations, there were nine cases with founded allegations or control weaknesses that led to 21 corrective-action recommendations surrounding:
Contract enforcement
Verification of vendor work and invoices
Efficient staffing structure
Collateral employment verification
Policies and procedures for employee committees and on-boarding volunteers.
Some cases (16 percent) were not actionable, because the City stated that they lacked sufficient information or merit. Other closed cases fell outside of the city auditor’s fraud hotline purview and were referred to the appropriate City department (25 percent) or external agency with jurisdiction (12 percent) for review.
“The value of our fraud hotline is that it allows anyone to easily and confidentially report tips of alleged City fraud, waste or abuse,” Doud said. “If you suspect wrongdoing against the City, please report your detailed tip.”
There are three ways to anonymously report tips of alleged City fraud, waste or abuse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the City Auditor’s Fraud Hotline:
By phone at 1-888-FRAUD-07 (1-888-372-8307)
An online form at CityAuditorLauraDoud.com
The MyAuditor App available for free at the App Store or Google Play
The City stated that studies support how tips are the most common method of fraud detection. To emphasize this, the City offices implemented an internal educational campaign that was recently recognized in early April with the Excellence in Public Information and Communications (EPIC) Award by California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO), officials said.
“This annual report, which is part of our Fraud Hotline educational campaign, shows how tips initiate positive change,” Doud said. “Together we can make Long Beach better by protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring they are used best for the public’s benefit.”
The complete Long Beach City Auditor’s 2018 Fraud Hotline Activity Report can be viewed at bit.ly/2VbqnID. A summary chart of cases closed can be viewed at bit.ly/2DLCv8F.
