Investigation of BIA Regional Management Practices

We investigated a complaint alleging that a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regional director and another BIA regional employee acting in a managerial capacity were involved in numerous acts of waste and abuse. The regional director allegedly failed to fill vacancies over which she had hiring responsibility, allowed the acting manager to be AWOL, approved excessive overtime for her, inappropriately used BIA funds, and backdated her signature on a fire restriction notice. In addition, it was alleged that the acting manager improperly hired an unqualified employee and that she and the regional director made false claims about supporting documentation for an internal audit. Our investigation found no evidence to support violations of regulation or policy.