“Last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs spent $4.8 billion using charge cards. A VA watchdog agency found that millions of that money could have been spent illegally or improperly, including a surge in year-end spending that indicates potential waste.”
“Every year, the VA’s Inspector General reviews the VA’s charge card programs for any risks. That review includes purchase cards, travel cards, fleet cards and other ways VA spends money.”
“The Inspector General’s report for 2018 spending, released July 22, showed that up to 20 percent of total transactions could be at risk — or as much as $920 million in possible “illegal or improper” spending.”
“The report shows VA’s purchase cards “remain at medium risk of illegal, improper or erroneous purchases” and “data mining” of purchase card transactions showed “potential misuse of cards.” VA made about 7.1 million transactions using cards in 2018, for about $606 per transaction, on average.”
“The Inspector General report also showed that VA’s use of the cards “continue to identify patterns” that don’t comply with federal regulations.” Read the full article here.
Source: Up to $920 million in possible ‘illegal, improper’ spending on VA charge cards, watchdog report shows – By Abbie Bennett, August 2, 2019. Connecting Vets.
