FWS Refuge Supervisor Failed to Deposit Public Donations into the U.S. Treasury

The OIG investigated allegations that a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) supervisor and a family member, also an FWS employee, mishandled and potentially embezzled cash collections and donations at an FWS refuge.

Our investigation determined that the FWS employees at the refuge violated the Treasury Financial Manual by not depositing the cash donations received from the public into the U.S. Treasury. We found that between October 2008 and October 2017, the employees sent $67,568.45 in cash donations to the refuge’s non-profit partner for deposit into the partner’s accounts, not into the U.S. Treasury as required. We did not find evidence of embezzlement.