DHHS manager allegedly used grant funds that were meant for attending conferences to pay for “personal” trips.

Rockville, Maryland – Montgomery County Maryland Inspector General Megan Davey Limarzi announced today the release of a new Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Memorandum of Investigation, DHHS Employee Travel, OIG Publication # OIG-25-11, detailing the results of an OIG investigation into the alleged misuse of grant funds by a County Department of Health and Human Services employee. The investigation was predicated on an anonymous complaint to the OIG’s hotline that alleged a DHHS manager used grant funds that were meant for attending conferences to pay for “personal” trips.

The investigation did not substantiate the allegationbut found other violations of County policy. Specifically, the OIG found instances where, counter to policy, the manager and other DHHS employees used DHHS funds to pay for hotel rooms while attending conferences within the local area, did not follow appropriate protocols to record and obtain approvals for travel, and DHHS managers approved their own travel expenses, a practice that could lead to abuse and fraud. The OIG, as the result of prior engagements, previously recommended that the County update their Administrative Procedures (AP) governing travel, a measure that could have prevented the observed issues.