MADISON -- State auditors identified nearly $75,000 charges on state credit cards that were excessive, fraudulent or otherwise inappropriate, a report released Wednesday said.
The charges included five business-class airplane tickets to Europe worth $48,226 for employees of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, which manages the state's pension fund.
The Legislative Audit Bureau called the charges excessive, noting that in one case the board could have saved $12,600 by buying two coach-class tickets instead of two business-class tickets.
Nonetheless, auditors said the controls the state has on its credit cards are generally adequate and that the abuse of cards for personal gain is rare.
They found 131 inappropriate charges, or 4.3% of the 3,071 charges they reviewed. Among the findings:
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--A Department of Natural Resources employee charged $233 for tickets to a theatrical production, $714 for a personal trip to Las Vegas, $149 for video game console repairs and $56 for a watch and purse.
The employee reimbursed the state for the console repairs but not the other charges. After auditors found the charges, the Capitol Police investigated and referred the matter to the Dane County district attorney's office. The employee was terminated in July.
--A Department of Military Affairs employee charged $2,384 in April 2008 at a hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, after he claimed his personal credit card was declined and he was threatened with jail. But as of June 2009, the employee, who is now on active military duty overseas, had not reimbursed the state, auditors said.
--A University of Wisconsin-Superior employee charged $292 on her state credit card for veterinary services for her sister's horse.
--Some charges did not include itemized receipts, as required, including a $2,692 purchase for the Department of Corrections from an online office furniture retailer and a $1,003 purchase from Wal-Mart by a UW-Oshkosh employee.
--In three cases, employees charged expenses to the state and then sought reimbursement for the same expense. For instance, a DNR employee used her state credit card to buy a $12 breakfast and a $9 dinner and then sought and received $30 in reimbursement for meal charges on the same day.
-- Copyright (c) 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
