Message from the Deputy Inspector General
I am pleased to submit to Congress our Semiannual Report for the period of April 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024.
During this reporting period, we issued 31 audit reports, including 15 contract audits, with more than $171.7 million in financial recommendations for potential cost savings and recoveries for the federal government. In addition, our investigative and legal work yielded $131.7 million in monetary recoveries.
Of note, we reported on multiple building safety issues at GSA, including flaws with Public Buildings Service (PBS) water quality management and guidance, which led to an increased risk of exposure to lead, copper, Legionella bacteria, and other contaminants in federal buildings. We also found that PBS faces a significant backlog of occupational safety and health, and fire risk conditions with nearly 36,000 actionable, open risk conditions at almost 2,000 GSA-managed assets nationwide. While reviewing corrective actions GSA took in response to a 2020 report, we found that child care centers in GSA-controlled buildings still have significant security vulnerabilities. We also found that PBS Region 2 did not comply with applicable laws, regulations, and policies when awarding and administering a $5.6 million Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act project to repave six land ports of entry at New York State’s northern border. Additionally, we reported that the GSA Federal Acquisition Service should strengthen its price analyses when consolidating multiple award schedule contracts.
As a result of an evaluation, we determined that GSA lacked adequate controls over foreign gifts and decorations, finding that the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Program generally lacked adequate inventory management controls, and we identified prohibited gifts in the inventory. Another evaluation found that PBS is not effectively administering the fuel storage tank management program effectively by not properly accounting for or maintaining the fuel tanks.
Our special agents uncovered a massive scheme to traffic fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment which resulted in the chief executive officer being sentenced to 6.5 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $100 million in restitution. Additionally, our investigative work revealed that a company sold millions of dollars in Chinese-made ballistic products, while claiming that the products were made in the U.S., which led to the owner being sentenced to more than 1 year in prison and being ordered to pay $2.67 million in restitution.
Finally, Avantor, Inc., agreed to pay the United States $5 million to resolve allegations that one of its subsidiaries, VWR International, LLC, fraudulently overcharged federal agencies for goods purchased between 2008 and 2017.
I am deeply grateful for the hard work of the men and women of GSA OIG who seek to combat waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars on a daily basis. Our efforts would not be possible without the ongoing support of Congress and GSA management.
Robert C. Erickson
Deputy Inspector General
September 30, 2024
REPORT:
