The OIG investigated allegations that Sanco Operating/Sanders Oil and Gas (Sanco) failed to report gas production and underreported gas sales from a Federal mineral lease, which resulted in a loss of royalties owed to the Government. We conducted a joint investigation with the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Special Investigations Group and found that Sanco stopped paying Federal royalties to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) in 2010 and failed to report gas production from August 2010 through December 2016.

The OIG investigated allegations that U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) employees improperly awarded a sole-source security services contract at a dam, received kickbacks for rigging the contract bidding process, and approved inflated invoices. Our investigation found no evidence that USBR employees improperly awarded the contract or received kickbacks for rigging the contract bidding process. We referred the allegations of inflated invoices to our Office of Audits, Inspections, and Evaluations, which audited the contract for compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

The OIG investigated an allegation that a senior official with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was involved in a conflict of interest when she directed her staff to hire a private consultant who was her friend. We found that the official violated Federal ethics regulations when she directed her staff to pay $2,400 to a private consultant with whom she had both a professional and personal relationship. In return for the payment, the consultant provided three written work products to BLM.

The OIG investigated allegations that between 2013 and 2017, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) employee wrongfully purchased approximately $6,000 worth of office and printer supplies with a Government purchase card. We also investigated whether the employee’s supervisor failed to review and monitor the purchase card transactions. We found that the employee made unauthorized purchases of supplies and used them for printing that was outside the scope of her assigned duties and unauthorized by her supervisors.

Our audit of costs claimed by the State of Ohio, Department of Natural Resources (Department) under grants awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) included claims totaling $59.8 million on 17 grants that were open during the State fiscal years that ended June 30, 2015, and June 30, 2016.