| Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of the Interior

November 10, 2022

Independent Auditors’ Reports on the Tribal and Other Trust Funds and Individual Indian Monies Trust Funds Financial Statements for Fiscal Years 2022 and 2021

Report Number

2022-FIN-031

This report details KPMG’s audit of trust funds financial statements from the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration for fiscal years 2022 and 2021.

Audit

Other

Council Elects New Chairperson

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The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) announces that its newly elected Chairperson is the Honorable Mark Lee Greenblatt, Inspector General (IG) for the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). Mr. Greenblatt was elected Chairperson on December 9, 2022, in a vote by the CIGIE membership. He will begin his two-year term on January 1, 2023, replacing Ms. Allison C. Lerner, IG for the National Science Foundation, who has served as Chairperson since 2021. Mr. Greenblatt brings a wealth of experience to CIGIE, having served as its Vice Chairperson since 2021 and previously as the CIGIE Executive Director.

Mr. Greenblatt began his tenure as the DOI IG on August 26, 2019, after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate. As the head of the DOI Office of Inspector General (OIG), Mr. Greenblatt leads a nationwide workforce of investigators, auditors, evaluators, attorneys, and support staff. Their mission is to provide independent oversight and promote excellence, integrity, and accountability within the programs, operations, and management of the DOI. As the IG, Mr. Greenblatt is the senior official responsible for providing oversight of more than 70,000 Department employees and assessing the Department’s diverse programs and operations, which include approximately $10 billion in grants and contracts, $12 billion in natural resource royalties, 30% of the nation’s energy resources, federal trust responsibilities to more than 570 Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages, and stewardship of 20% of the nation’s lands.

Mr. Greenblatt has been in the federal oversight community since 2003 as part of both the legislative and executive branches. Immediately before becoming the DOI IG, he served as the Executive Director of CIGIE. He previously served in leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Commerce OIG and the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Mr. Greenblatt also served as an investigative counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice OIG. Over the course of his federal career, he has received several awards, including a CIGIE award for excellence, U.S. Department of Commerce gold medal and bronze medals, and a U.S. Department of Justice OIG distinguished service award. He is also a published author.

Mr. Greenblatt graduated from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University.

“I am honored to be elected Chairperson to build on the excellent work of my predecessor, Allison Lerner,” said Inspector General Greenblatt. “CIGIE is a unique community within the federal government – one that is apolitical and focused on conducting objective, independent oversight on behalf of the American people. I look forward to working with my fellow IGs to ensure that CIGIE is efficiently and effectively supporting its members’ vital missions. I am also eager to continue our productive engagement with CIGIE’s external stakeholders.”

Date

Mon, 12/19/2022 - 12:00

OIG News Type

Press Release

Link

https://www.doioig.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/PressReleaseChair_1.pdf

Read more about Council Elects New Chairperson

November 16, 2022

Summary: Oil Producer Trespassed on Federal Land in Colorado

Report Number

21-0867

PDC Energy, Inc., drilled and then operated a well in Colorado that removed Federal minerals without first obtaining a Federal lease or drilling permit.

Investigation

Bureau of Land Management

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

November 10, 2022

Summary: Alleged Timecard Fraud by NPS Employee

Report Number

22—0152

We investigated an allegation that an NPS supervisor improperly approved a request from a subordinate to receive pay after being suspended.

Investigation

National Park Service

November 29, 2022

The Bureaus of Indian Affairs and Indian Education Have the Opportunity To Implement Additional Controls To Prevent or Detect Multi-dipping of Pandemic Response Funds

Report Number

2021–ER–015

We recommended the BIA and the BIE implement controls designed to prevent or detect instances of multi-dipping of pandemic response funds.

Inspection

Pandemic

Bureau of Indian Affairs

November 22, 2022

Semiannual Report to Congress for the Period Ending September 30, 2022

This semiannual report summarizes the work we completed from April 1, 2022, through September 30, 2022, to deter fraud, waste, and abuse.

Semiannual Report

Departmentwide

November 14, 2022

Inspector General’s Statement Summarizing the Major Management and Performance Challenges Facing the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fiscal Year 2022

Report Number

2022–ER–027

We summarized what we have determined to be the most significant management and performance challenges facing the DOI for FY 2022.

Top Management Challenges

Departmentwide

October 25, 2022

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grants Awarded to the State of Mississippi, Department of Marine Resources, From July 1, 2019, Through June 30, 2021, Under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program

Report Number

2022-ER-001

We audited costs claimed and grant compliance by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources under grants awarded by the FWS.

Audit

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Former Special Agent Sentenced For Falsifying His Education And Work Experience

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LAS VEGAS – A former Special Agent assigned to the U.S. National Park Service, Lake Mead Resident Office in Boulder City, Nev., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey for submitting false information about his work experience and education on his job application for a federal law enforcement officer position.

Daniel Joshua Carnow (46) pleaded guilty in June 2022 to false official writing. He was sentenced to one year probation, a $500 fine, and a restriction barring him from future employment as a federal law enforcement officer.

According to court documents, in April 2019, Carnow was a federal law enforcement officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration Customs Enforcement. He applied for a Special Agent position with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service. As part of his application, he misrepresented on his resume that he had served as a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of State (DOS), Foreign Service Diplomatic Security Services (DSS), and that he had earned a Master of Forensic Science degree from the University of Central Oklahoma.

“Public service is a public trust and deceitfulness committed by law enforcement officers’ is especially egregious,” said Jamie DePaepe, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI OIG). “Acts such as the conduct in this case also undermine the nation’s trust of law enforcement. By his actions that led to today’s sentencing, the defendant violated and undermined that trust. The OIG will remain steadfast in our efforts to investigate individuals who prove themselves unworthy of public service.”

U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Jamie DePaepe for the DOI OIG made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the DOI OIG and the National Park Service – Office of Professional Responsibility. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre prosecuted the case.

Anyone with knowledge of fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, or mismanagement involving the DOI should file a complaint with the OIG at: www.doioig.gov/hotline.

Date

Wed, 10/19/2022 - 12:00

OIG News Type

Press Release

Link

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/former-special-agent-sentenced-falsifying-hi…