October 2018 Semiannual Report to Congress
October 2018 Semiannual Report to Congress
Reports
BIA Manager Created the Appearance of Using His Public Office for Private Gain
BIA Manager Created the Appearance of Using His Public Office for Private Gain
Alleged Reprisal and Hostile Work Environment at BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region
The OIG investigated allegations that senior management within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Gulf of Mexico Region reprised against an employee for disclosures she made to BOEM officials. The employee also filed similar complaints under Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) provisions.
During our investigation, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Civil Rights issued a finding that the employee was discriminated against and subjected to reprisal and a hostile work environment by a former BOEM supervisor.
Alleged Reprisal and Hostile Work Environment at BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region
Alleged Reprisal and Hostile Work Environment at BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region
Tribal School Employees Failed To Repay Payroll Advances
The OIG investigated allegations that two former employees of a tribally controlled school funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) did not repay payroll advances.
We found that one employee failed to repay the school for more than $77,000 in payroll advances and the other failed to repay the school for more than $16,000 in payroll advances. Both employees admitted to owing the funds and that they made no attempt to repay the money when they were no longer employed by the school.
We referred this matter to the U.S.
Tribal School Employees Failed To Repay Payroll Advances
Tribal School Employees Failed To Repay Payroll Advances
Alleged Preferential Treatment in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Boundary Decision
We investigated whether the boundaries of Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) were modified, at least in part, for the personal financial benefit of former Utah State Representative Michael Noel, who owned property along the GSENM border and who is currently the executive director of the Kane County (UT) Water Conservancy District. Our investigation focused on:
1. Whether the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) followed an established process for assessing proposed boundaries for national monuments, including the proposed GSENM boundary modifications
2.
BIA Firefighters Convicted for Intentionally Setting Wildland Fires on the Cherokee Reservation
The OIG investigated an allegation that Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Administratively Determined (AD) firefighters intentionally set wildland fires for profit on the Cherokee Reservation in Cherokee, NC.
We found that firefighters Raymond Swayney, Grady Davis, Zachary Winchester, and three others caused or participated in several wildland arsons for profit between fiscal years 2010 and 2014, impacting hundreds of acres in Cherokee and costing the Federal Government thousands of dollars.
Swayney, Davis, and Winchester pleaded guilty in U.S.
BIA Firefighters Convicted for Intentionally Setting Wildland Fires on the Cherokee Reservation
BIA Firefighters Convicted for Intentionally Setting Wildland Fires on the Cherokee Reservation
Investigation of IT Security Incident at USGS Facility
Investigation of IT Security Incident at USGS Facility