Reports

07.20.2020

Fleet Program Is Not Managed in Accordance with Fleet Management Requirements

Attached is our final report that provides the results of our audit of the U.S. Department of Commerce's (Department's) fleet management program.

Report Number OIG-20-037-A

Audits / Evaluations, Correspondence

07.15.2020

IG Letter to Chairman Gerald Connolly re: the Return of Employees to Federal Offices in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Dear Chairman Connolly: We are in receipt of your letter of June 15, 2020, requesting that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) examine the plans and procedures of the U.S. Department of Commerce (the Department) for returning employees to federal offices in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and your staff's follow-up communication of July 9, 2020, requesting acknowledgement …

Report Number OIG-20-036-M

Correspondence

07.14.2020

Request for Information to Deputy Secretary Karen Dunn Kelley from the Inspector General re: Phased Reopening of Department Offices

On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce (the Department) initiated Phase 1 of the three-phased framework set forth in Guidelines for Opening Up America Again, promulgated by the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and referenced in Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-20-23, …

Report Number OIG-20-035-M

Office of the Secretary

Correspondence

07.14.2020

Maryland Defense Contractor Facing Federal Indictment for Procurement Fraud

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Cory Collin Fitzgerald Sanders, age 39, of Hagerstown, Maryland, on federal charges of wire fraud, false claims, and aggravated identity theft in connection with his companies' performance on federal contracts. The indictment was returned on July 8, 2020, and was unsealed at his initial appearance yesterday.

Investigations

07.07.2020

Request for Information to Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham from the Inspector General

You recently announced that the U.S. Census Bureau (the Bureau) has hired two new staff: (1) Nathaniel Cogley, PhD, as the Deputy Director for Policy, and (2) Adam Korzeniewski, as the Senior Advisor to the Deputy Director for Policy.

Report Number OIG-20-034-M

Correspondence

07.01.2020

The Department Is Actively Preventing OIG from Completing an Evaluation

This memorandum expresses my deep concern that the Department is failing to identify specific privileges and provide privilege markings to a U.S. Department of
Commerce Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluation, while claiming amorphous and generalized privileges, which effectively prevent us from publicly releasing the evaluation that is otherwise ready for release.

Office of the Secretary

Correspondence

06.30.2020

University of Virginia Agrees to Settle Claims Associated with Federal Grants

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville, has agreed to pay $1 million to settle claims that it did not properly account for certain rebates and credits the university received on purchases it made in connection with federal grants and awards (Federal Awards).

Investigations

06.26.2020

Evaluation of NOAA's September 6, 2019, Statement About Hurricane Dorian Forecasts

On Friday, September 6, 2019—the day Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the United States as a Category 1 hurricane—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an unsigned statement (Statement) in response to a request by the White House then-acting Chief of Staff to your office.

Report Number OIG-20-032-I

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of the Secretary

Audits / Evaluations

06.25.2020

Anchorage Woman Charged with Embezzling Funds from a Tribal Organization in Alaska

U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that an Anchorage woman has been federally charged with embezzling approximately $174,290 from the Alaska Native Harbor Seal Commission (ANHSC), which was primarily funded from federal grants issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with additional federal grant funds provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Investigations

06.18.2020

Evaluation of 2020 Census Peak Operations

We are initiating an evaluation of the U.S. Census Bureau's (the Bureau's) 2020 Census peak operations.

U.S. Census Bureau (Census)

06.18.2020

Management Alert: Top Oversight Challenges Facing the Department of Commerce to Ensuring That Pandemic Funds Are Timely and Appropriately Spent

Attached is a management alert based on 'Top Oversight Challenges Facing the Department of Commerce to Ensuring That Pandemic Funds Are Timely and Appropriately Spent'—our May 11, 2020, response to a request from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).

Report Number OIG-20-031-M

Office of the Secretary

Audits / Evaluations