PODCAST TRANSCRIPT: EPA OIG - Fraud, Waste and Abuse


[STEPHON]  Hello, I’m Stephon Burton, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General, and I’m here with Special Agent Clay Brown of the OIG’s Office of Investigations. He’s been kind enough to answer a few questions regarding fraud, waste and abuse in the government. Thank you, Special Agent Brown, for joining us today.

[CLAY]  Thank you.

[STEPHON]  The Inspector General is responsible for investigating fraud, waste and abuse in their agency – in this case, the EPA. Can you tell us what constitutes fraud, waste and abuse?

[CLAY]  Sure. Fraud involves a type of illegal act in the obtaining of something of value through willful misrepresentation. Waste involves not receiving reasonable value for money in connection with any government-funded activities due to an inappropriate act or omission by players with control over or access to government resources. Abuse involves behavior that is deficient or improper when compared with behavior that a prudent person would consider reasonable and necessary business practice, given the facts and circumstances. In addition, the OIG website has a brochure on fraud, waste and abuse.

[STEPHON]  How does the OIG become aware of this?

[CLAY]  EPA employees, contractors and grantees and the general public can contact the Office of Inspector General through the Hotline. The Hotline can be contacted by telephone and the toll-free number is 888-546-8740. It also can be contacted by email, fax or the U.S. Mail. In addition, Office of Inspector General employees throughout the country may be contacted in person. However, all complaints for the OIG are processed through the Hotline. The Hotline also has a poster that can be obtained on the EPA OIG Website.

[STEPHON]  And you mentioned the Hotline a few times. What exactly is the Hotline?

[CLAY]  The EPA Office of Inspector General Hotline receives complaints of fraud, waste and abuse in EPA programs and operations, including mismanagement or violations of law, rules or regulations by EPA employees or program participants.

[STEPHON]  Are there any stories regarding fraud, waste and abuse that you can tell us?

[CLAY]  Sure. The Hotline has received many calls from EPA employees reporting time and attendance allegations. These allegations include fraudulent medical telework applications, earning overtime on compressed days off and not claiming leave when not at work. 

[STEPHON]  Can you provide possible examples of the consequences?

[CLAY]  Sure. Some of these time and attendance cases are prosecuted criminally. However, the majority of employee cases are handled administratively. 

[STEPHON]  What is a whistleblower?

[CLAY]  Whistleblowers are EPA employees, contractors and grantees that are reporting fraud, waste and abuse, and are seeking protection for their reporting. The OIG, along with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel will assist these employees.  The EPA Office of Inspector General website contains additional information regarding whistleblowing.

[STEPHON]  Let me see if I understand this correctly. So, the whistleblower is an employee, contractor, grantee that reports on their own agency?    

[CLAY]  They report on fraud, waste and abuse at EPA.

[STEPHON]  Okay. And have there been instances of the EPA or their offices retaliating against them?

[CLAY]  I’ve been working on the EPA OIG Hotline more than 5 years, and I have not had any. However, I’m here to help if it is reported to me.

[STEPHON]  So, what type of activities should people be looking for? What should they report to the EPA OIG?

[CLAY]  EPA employee, contractors, and grantees should be on the lookout for indicators of fraud, waste and abuse.  These indicators can reveal potential investigations, audits and evaluations by the EPA Office of Inspector General.  Moreover, the EPA OIG is an independent fact gatherer and provides and objective look at reported issues.

[STEPHON]  You mentioned being on the lookout for indicators, but what are some possible fraud indicators of fraud, waste and abuse?

[CLAY]  Possible indicators are high turnover personnel, unexplained entries, altered records, unusually large amounts of cash payments, inadequate or missing documentation, unauthorized transactions. Sometimes these are fraud and sometimes these are merely indicators of poor business practices. But, poor business practices can lead to the opportunity to commit fraud. Additionally, more information can be obtained on our EPA OIG website.

[STEPHON]  Thank you, Special Agent Brown. For more information about EPA Office of Inspector General work, please visit our website at www-DOT-epa-DOT-gov-FORWARD SLASH-oig, and be sure to follow us on Twitter at epaoig.