Reports

Issues in the Monitoring of Awards Made by the FWS International Affairs Program

The OIG investigated allegations that a retired Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) employee represented his current employer in matters in which he participated personally and substantially while he was employed at the USBR, violating post-employment conflict-of-interest laws. We confirmed that the retired employee represented his current employer in four matters which were substantially the same as those he engaged in while employed with the USBR.

Former BSEE Official Did Not Violate Ethics Rules

We audited the costs claimed by the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish and Wildlife, under grants awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. The audit included claims totaling $50.9 million on 35 grants that were open during the State fiscal years that ended June 30, 2015, and June 30, 2016.

The OIG investigated an allegation that a senior official with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) committed perjury while testifying in an official capacity at a Federal trial in 2017. In a motion to dismiss, the defense quoted a 2008 letter signed by the official that, according to the defense, proved the official’s testimony was untruthful. We confirmed that some of the official’s testimony contradicted the letter, but we found no evidence that the official knowingly provided false information during the testimony.