Forest Service Employees Found Using Government Travel Cards to Make Personal Purchases

Four Forest Service employees racked up charges of $13,700 in improper and unapproved charges on government travel cards in 2011, according to a report from the Agriculture Department's inspector general that was obtained by Government Executive.

The department traced back 500 transactions made by four employees that couldn't be attributed to any official travel. Among the charges were purchases at restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and cash withdrawals at ATMs. Two of the employees' accounts were delinquent by more than $3,000.

Before using government expense cards, federal employees must complete online training that outlines the travel card policies. They also must sign an agreement stating that they understand the policies. After the cards are used, the government reimburses the employee for authorized expenses on the accounts, which the employees are responsible for paying. Using the travel card for personal expenses is prohibited. The USDA also doesn't allow employees to carry delinquent balances.

Three of the employees involved no longer work at the Forest Service, but the fourth individual is still an employee and is awaiting disciplinary action, according to the agency, which has paid the accounts in full for two of the employees involved.

"Although USDA has automated checks and fraud detection tools for other types of misuse, for example, transactions with inappropriate vendors, it is not currently able to automatically reconcile travel card use with approved travel dates," according to a report seen by Government Executive. "With more than 675,000 travel card transactions to monitor each year, the volume is overwhelming for the Forest Service management personnel."

Watchdog agencies examining travel card misuse found a relatively low level overall.

"The travel card program staff and the employee relations community are working closely to provide more information and educating the community on travel card misuse," Thomas Tidwell, the head of the Forest Service, told Government Executive in response to the report on travel card misuse.

This is not the first instance of questionable spending by government employees. Recently, residents of Hawaii were upset to see the travel spending by government officials traveling to and from Hawaii.