St. Bernard Parish government misappropriates public assets

(The Center Square) — Elected officials and administrative employees for the St. Bernard Parish government reportedly didn't take the proper precautions to deter fraud.

The audit of the parish financial statements for the year ending Dec. 31, 2023 had five findings. The most glaring was a former elected official receiving a vehicle allowance of $1,600 per month, totaling $19,200.

The former elected official also incurred over $4,700 in gas and maintenance charges for the vehicle, which were also paid by the Parish.

Procedures were not in place to review and approve credit card charges for parish elected officials according to the report . As a result, auditors believe there was likely a misappropriation of public assets. The extent of this potential misappropriation is under investigation by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's office and that report is incomplete as of the issuance of this report.

Another incident of unauthorized use of assets that occurred during 2023 involved a former administrative employee holding an event at a parish facility. They were not charged rental fees; in fact there was no rent paid related to the use of facility during 2023.

Additionally, a second facility rental contract for another parish employee included a $500 "employee discount" that was 'not allowable' but was notated as being authorized by a former elected official.

Upon investigation by the parish in 2024 the first administrative employee was billed and subsequently paid $3,745 in facility rental fees.

Auditors also found incorrect financial reporting with over $7.5 million in liabilities described as revenues.

The parish's controls surrounding the preparation and review of financial statements are, according to auditors, "insufficiently designed to detect errors in the conversion of fund financial statements to government-wide financial statements."

Out of four out of five vendors selected for audit testing, the parish was unable to provide supporting documentation that these vendor services or supplies were procured in accordance with the standards in the federal Gulf of Mexico Security Act of 2006.

The blunder resulted in approximately $2.12 million in questioned costs due to a material weakness in the internal controls over procurement. Auditors say the parish may not be selecting vendors with the lowest overall cost for services and supplies as a result.

After interviewing staff, it was determined that a former housing coordinator instructed an employee to exclude an applicant's bonus from consideration when determining the applicant's income. As a result of this override of controls, the individual received public housing benefits even though they did not meet the Parish's income eligibility requirements.

The audit determined a significant deficiency exists in the internal controls over income eligibility determination, including consideration of management override of controls.