Overview
In 2020, the Office of the Inspector General (Office) transformed its operations in response to the COVID-19 health emergency. However, the pandemic did not change the Office’s mission, the dedication of its employees or its commitment to making government better. In short, the Office continued to work hard for the people of the Commonwealth throughout the last year.
In response to the pandemic, the Office transformed its operations in order to continue fulfilling its work on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth.
In March 2020, concerned about the health and safety of his staff, Inspector General Glenn A. Cunha closed the Office’s physical workplaces and directed all employees to work from home during the public health crisis. The Office’s staff quickly adapted to ensure that they continued to fulfill the Office’s important mission. This monumental task included equipping every employee with the technology and other tools they needed to work remotely, moving the Office’s professional training classes online, developing protocols for conducting remote investigations and reviews, and enhancing internal controls to protect public funds.
The pandemic also created other challenges. For instance, complaints to the Office’s fraud hotline soared – increasing 31% in March, another 28% in April and an unprecedented 172% in May. In total, the Office responded to 2,986 complaints on its fraud hotlines in 2020, more than double the 1,368 investigators answered in 2019.
Furthermore, new state and federal programs designed to help individuals, businesses and governments weather the economic impacts of COVID-19 also inadvertently created new fraud risks. The Office responded to these risks, opening investigations related to COVID-19 fraud; reviewing vendors’ reporting requirements for COVID-19-related spending; and providing advice on the oversight of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding.
Because the pandemic created new fraud risks, the Office increased its oversight, opened COVID-19-related investigations, and created new programs and guidance to help state and local governments.
The Office also found ways to assist public employees facing new challenges because of the pandemic. It issued guidance outlining how state agencies can safeguard public funds during the pandemic, including providing model best practices to use before and after purchasing pandemic-related supplies and services. The Office also created trainings for municipal employees newly placed in procurement roles because of the pandemic, and it launched a consolidated OIG COVID-19 Information and Resources page on the Office’s website. This page offers advice on navigating emergency purchases and virtual bidding for public entities, as well as complying with recordkeeping requirements in a virtual and telework environment. In addition, the Office worked with the COVID-19 Response Command Center to address hotline complaints about inadequate personal protective equipment and staffing levels at group homes.
In addition to addressing the challenges related to COVID-19, the Office maintained its commitment to detecting, preventing and correcting fraud, waste and abuse of public money and resources across the Commonwealth. The Office’s work – which included investigations, reviews, collaborations and trainings – spanned numerous areas of state and local government, including public safety, transportation, library services, education, healthcare and public administration. The Office’s efforts resulted in criminal convictions, policy changes, new legislation, stronger internal controls and expanded training opportunities for public employees. Furthermore, in 2020, investigations initiated by the Office recovered over $1.8 million for public entities through settlements, restitutions, fines and repayments.
In 2020, the Office's work spanned all sectors of the government and led to criminal convictions, civil settlements, stronger internal controls, policy changes, improved operations and the recovery of over $1.8 million for the Commonwealth and local governments.
Looking more closely at each division, in 2020, the Audit, Oversight and Investigations Division (Investigations Division) conducted investigations and reviews into a broad range of alleged misconduct, including fraud, bribery, theft, extortion, public corruption, absenteeism, waste of public assets, mismanagement, self-dealing and nepotism. For instance, the Investigations Division conducted a joint investigation with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office that resulted in the indictment of an accountant for allegedly stealing more than $930,000 from the towns of Uxbridge, Monterey, Wenham and Millville. The Investigations Division also reviewed the negotiations surrounding two police contracts in the city of Methuen. After the Office issued its public report on the contracts, Methuen’s mayor placed the city’s longtime police chief on leave. A short time later, the police chief announced his retirement.
While continuing to fulfill its statutory mandate to conduct reviews and investigations related to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, in 2020, the Bureau of Program Integrity (Bureau) also supported the development of a program integrity unit within the Department of Developmental Services. The Bureau also worked to improve the Department of Transitional Assistance’s (DTA) fraud detection capabilities while its applications for benefits assistance soared. For example, the Bureau made recommendations about improving the quality of DTA’s data collection during benefits eligibility processing. The Bureau also assisted DTA with improving its access to data from the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Access to DUA data was crucial in the spring of 2020 when applications to both DUA and DTA increased dramatically.
The legislature created the Division of State Police Oversight (State Police Division) in response to the discovery that some troopers in Massachusetts State Police (MSP) Troop E, which patrolled the Massachusetts Turnpike, were being paid for overtime shifts they had not worked. In 2020, the State Police Division continued its effort to determine whether comparable overtime abuses exist in other troops, reviewing Troop A’s federally funded overtime shifts. The State Police Division did not find that any troopers in Troop A missed a full four-hour overtime shift, but it did find indications that 33 troopers failed to complete 93 overtime shifts. The State Police Division also found that, contrary to MSP policy, troopers often treated their commute to and from work as part of their overtime shift.
The Internal Special Audit Unit (Transportation Unit) continued its work examining and evaluating the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and working collaboratively with MassDOT to ensure the quality, efficiency and integrity of the department’s operating and capital programs. Among other activities, the Transportation Unit identified significant overbilling by NEL Corporation (NEL), a company that MassDOT hired to maintain and repair bridges throughout the Commonwealth. The Transportation Unit collaborated with the Office’s Civil Recovery Unit and the Attorney General’s Office to recover $700,000 from NEL. The Transportation Unit also continued its in-depth review of the Merit Rating Board, the division within the Registry of Motor Vehicles responsible for maintaining and updating driving records.
The Legal Division assisted the Office in its response to the COVID-19 crisis with legal analysis of pandemic-related legislation. In addition, the Legal Division spearheaded the Office’s continued work arising from the Hinton Drug Lab crisis and the Office’s comprehensive investigation. Throughout 2020, the Legal Division represented the Office as an interested party in Hinton Drug Lab post-conviction litigation and led the Office’s production of a summary of its investigation methodology.
Created in 2019 to assist the Office recover public funds, the Legal Division’s Civil Recovery Unit works closely with the Attorney General’s Office to identify specific investigations in which government employees or public contractors submitted false claims, wasted public funds or engaged in other wrongdoing. The Office's enabling statute provides a mandate to conduct civil recovery actions and, since its inception in 2019, the Civil Recovery Unit has worked to recoup funds the Commonwealth and local governments have lost because of false claims, breaches of contract, predatory sales practices and other misconduct.
The Policy and Government Division (Policy Division) is responsible for overseeing many of the Office’s legislative mandates, including a requirement to report annually on healthcare spending by the Massachusetts Medicaid (MassHealth) and Health Safety Net programs. In 2020, the Policy Division reviewed MassHealth’s payments for adult foster care and sleep studies. The division also continued to work with MassHealth to promote the use of background checks before MassHealth members hire a personal care attendant. Separately, the Policy Division continued to participate in the development of policies and procedures related to the Commonwealth’s public design and construction laws, reviewed public land transactions and provided input on more than 100 pieces of legislation.
The Regulatory and Compliance Division (R&C Division) continued to help state and local government employees use best practices and comply with Massachusetts’ public purchasing laws. This assistance included responding to 1,196 inquiries on the Office’s Chapter 30B hotline about public bidding laws, good governance, and best practices for purchasing supplies and services. As mentioned above, in response to the COVID-19 health emergency, the R&C Division converted the Office’s professional training program – known as the MCPPO program – from mostly live and in-person classes to 100% online. The R&C Division also expanded the curriculum for the MCPPO program, including introducing 60-to-90-minute webinars, adding videos to the Office’s YouTube channel, and developing asynchronous online trainings. MCPPO also streamlined its registration process. Together, these initiatives attracted a record 5,046 participants to trainings in such topics as procurement law, fraud awareness, public governance, diversity and inclusion in public purchasing, contract administration, leadership and public construction.
The Office recognized the R&C Division’s quick and efficient conversion to an online training platform and the importance of providing professional development opportunities during the pandemic by awarding it the first-ever John William Ward Performance Recognition Award.
During 2020, the Office also continued to cultivate a diverse, skilled and engaged workforce dedicated to excellence, teamwork and the highest standards of professional conduct within a supportive, inclusive and collaborative work environment. In response to the Office’s strategic plan, the Office created the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, which strives to help the Office implement best practices to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. The DEI Committee also assists the Office in recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce that is highly skilled and invested in the Office’s mission. In addition, the committee creates programs to facilitate conversations about racism, social justice and equity, including programs to empower employees to be allies and advocates in the Office and in their communities.
In March 2020, the Office welcomed its first Justice Geraldine S. Hines Legal Fellow. And in July, the first Dr. Frances Burke Investigator Fellow marked her one-year anniversary with the Office. The Office established the two-year fellowship programs in 2019 to improve its recruitment and retention of a talented and diverse workforce. The fellowships provide substantive and valuable experience to individuals with strong commitments to public service. In January 2021, seven months ahead of schedule, Inspector General Cunha promoted the first Burke Fellow, making her a full-time investigator. The Office is currently in the process of selecting its second Hines Legal Fellow and Burke Fellow.
Further details about the activities summarized above, as well as the results of additional investigations, reviews and other projects, are set forth in the rest of this report.
Additional Resources
Contact for OIG Annual Report 2020: Highlights
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| Date published: | April 30, 2021 |
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