The OIG investigated an allegation that Jamie K. Reaser, Executive Director, National Invasive Species Council (NISC) Secretariat, may have violated Federal ethics and conflict of interest regulations by directing the award of a sole-source contract to an individual with whom she resided and may have had a personal or financial relationship.
We found that in May 2017, Reaser violated Federal regulations by directing the award of a $20,000 sole-source contract to a friend with whom she routinely lived with during the week without paying rent, and by providing the friend with the Government’s budget for the contract.
We also found that all contracts awarded during Reaser’s tenure in her position were done so through sole-source procedures at her direction, even though some contracts could have been openly competed. We found that in some of these cases, Reaser provided procurement sensitive information to contractors prior to the award.