In one instance, Laboratory personnel became aware of what appears to be a fraudulent purchasing scheme in which an employee was collecting payments for purchases. The employee's apparent fraudulent activity appears to have begun in the past three months. Laboratory personnel are conducting further reviews to determine the full extent of this fraudulent activity.
In the other instance, the Laboratory's business controls detected apparent fraudulent activity in which an employee used vehicle charge cards to obtain about $3,000 worth of gasoline. After the discovery, the employee admitted to Laboratory personnel to using the cards to purchase gasoline for acquaintances in exchange for money. The employee apparently had fraudulently activated seven charge cards that were supposed to be assigned to vehicles in the Laboratory's fleet. The Laboratory detected the apparent fraudulent criminal activity and took appropriate action within about two weeks of its inception in late May. Since the incident, the Laboratory has completed an inventory of vehicle credit cards and has properly accounted for all of the cards associated with the Laboratory fleet of government vehicles.
As part of ongoing efforts to further strengthen management practices, the University of California and the laboratory have been conducting internal control reviews, similar to those under the Sarbanes Oxley Act, to ensure that control weaknesses are not present and if identified are corrected. The University of California Vice President for Financial Management personally visited the Laboratory on Tuesday and received a status on the two incidents and is involved in evaluating immediate internal control enhancements. In addition, the UC Vice President for Financial Management received information on the corrective actions the laboratory is taking.
"I am disappointed to learn that two employees apparently decided to violate the public trust," said Laboratory Director Robert Kuckuck. "These isolated incidents do not reflect the character of this Laboratory and its dedicated workforce. I sincerely hope the prompt discovery of these activities will serve as a warning that such actions will not go undetected and carry serious consequences."
The Laboratory is cooperating with law enforcement investigators and will not release further information at this time so as not to jeopardize the investigations.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.