After three months and 119 employee interviews, the Office of Inspector General released an 11-page report titled “Investigation into Allegations of Inaccurate Charges to Federal Grants”.
The OIG found that CareerSource Northeast Florida “lacks sufficient internal controls necessary to ensure that the time charges are accurate."
“What we're doing is intentional. We're defrauding the government. We're falsely signing our names to something that we know is wrong, and that's got to stop,” said Faron Miles, a former employee of CareerSource, during an interview in December.
He spoke exclusively to Action News Jax about what he witnessed, alleging that district directors ordered staff to falsify time sheets, charging hours worked to the wrong federal programs.
It was Miles’ allegations that kicked off the investigation.
The OIG found “a preponderance of the evidence that this did occur” in instances related to a specific program.
But the investigation also found "no evidence of any intentional misapplication of property
or funds for personal gain."
In a letter to the inspector general, CEO Bruce Ferguson said CareerSource has already developed a plan of action.
Action News Jax requested an interview with Ferguson but we were told he’s out of town. A spokesperson sent us the following statement from Ferguson:
Miles said he strongly disagrees with the finding that showed the misapplication of funds was not for personal gain. He plans to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor.