DiNapoli: State Contractor Spent $20,000 Legislative Member Item on Herself and Family
A Brooklyn contractor helped herself to state-funded equipment, including an iPad used by her granddaughter and a laptop her husband used for personal purposes, according to an audit released last week by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The contractor, Homeowners Association, Inc., was paid by the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to train Brooklyn residents on ways to improve their financial situation.
The Comptroller sent his findings to the state Attorney General’s Civil Recoveries Bureau. He recommended that OCFS work with the Attorney General to make a full recovery of the $20,000.
"This vendor was supposed to help individuals achieve the American dream of homeownership. Instead, she fulfilled her own dreams and allowed her family to use state-funded equipment for homework assignments, iTunes downloads and other personal business,” DiNapoli said. “OCFS needs to ensure that the public’s money is used appropriately. State agencies which administer grants must be held accountable for taxpayer money.”
Homeowners’ president, Carolyn Faulkner, received the grant through a state legislative member item to purchase equipment for workshops, seminars, meetings and newsletters on homeownership, credit worthiness and foreclosure preventions for residents of East New York, Brownsville and Canarsie in Brooklyn. Instead, DiNapoli’s auditors found, from 2010 to 2011, Faulkner spent all of the $20,000 on equipment that was used primarily for her family’s personal activities.
For a copy of the report visit: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/bseaudits/bse20131012.htm
Anyone with additional information on any matter involving public corruption or fraud is encouraged to contact the Comptroller’s office by dialing the toll-free fraud hotline at 1-888-672-4555; filing a complaint online at investigations@osc.state.ny.us, or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Investigations Unit, 14th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.