I. Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotlines
The Office is committed to ensuring that individuals can confidentially report suspected wrongdoing in the use of public funds or assets. The Office therefore operates a general fraud hotline for individuals to report suspected wrongdoing involving local, state or federal funds. It also has created a specialized transportation hotline to report suspected fraud, waste or abuse related to public transportation programs and the misuse of transportation funds.
All complaints to the Office’s hotlines are treated confidentially, and individuals can choose to submit a complaint anonymously. The Office evaluates each complaint to determine whether it falls within the Office’s jurisdiction and whether it warrants action. Some complaints lead to extensive investigations, some are referred to other agencies and others are closed if a preliminary inquiry fails to substantiate the allegations.
While not all complaints result in an investigation or review, many uncover wrongdoing, such as corruption, theft, fraud, favoritism in selecting contractors, mismanagement and wasteful spending. Complaints also lead to improvements in how government agencies operate, as well as to cost recoveries and civil settlements.
The Office has received 9,959 hotline complaints between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2020. In 2020 alone, the Office received and responded to 2,986 complaints. The general fraud hotline received 2,774 complaints while the transportation fraud hotline received 212 complaints. The complaints covered a variety of topics, including embezzlement, procurement fraud, public corruption, time theft and abuse of the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The complaints came from all over the Commonwealth and involved numerous areas of government, such as administration, education, housing, public safety, public benefits, state services and transportation.
Many complaints in 2020 related to unemployment insurance fraud associated with the COVID- 19 pandemic, with the Office fielding 250 unemployment insurance complaints in a single week in May. Overall, the Office referred 1,208 complaints to the Program Integrity team at the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance.
II. Chapter 30B Hotline
Fraud prevention is critical to improving government and safeguarding public assets. Consequently, the Office has established a hotline to respond to questions and complaints concerning public procurements and public bidding laws, including Chapter 30B of the Massachusetts General Laws (Chapter 30B). Through the hotline, the Office helps state and local employees to comply with bidding laws and to conduct fair, open and competitive procurements. Calls to the hotline also lead public entities to rebid contracts, strengthen procurement procedures, institute internal controls and implement other improvements.
In 2020, the Office responded to 1,196 inquiries and questions about Chapter 30B, public construction biding laws, local purchasing requirements, fraud prevention and internal controls.
Additional Resources
Contact for OIG Annual Report 2020: Hotlines
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Date published: | April 30, 2021 |
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