We investigated an allegation that staff working in the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Wild Horse and Burro Program may have committed fraud by using Government charge cards and convenience checks to pay for expenses related to personal horses they owned.
We found that staff used Government charge cards and convenience checks to make purchases related to the use of their privately owned horses for official duties, and that those purchases had been approved by their supervisors.
We also found, however, that staff misapplied the BLM policy that permits the use of privately owned horses for official Government activities when they claimed expenses related to those personal horses. The BLM subsequently withdrew authorization for staff to use privately owned horses in the performance of their official duties in the district where this occurred.
We also found instances where staff exceeded Government charge card thresholds by splitting purchases—which is prohibited—associated with those privately owned horse expenses. In one case, we discovered that BLM staff purchased, and supervisors approved, four custom saddles for their privately owned horses.
This is a summary of an investigative report we provided to the BLM Deputy Director for Policy and Programs.