Examples of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
Fraud is the act of using dishonesty for personal gain. In the context of this program, the definition includes any misuse of, or attempt to misuse, a County asset for personal gain, or for purposes unrelated to County business. Examples of fraud include but are not limited to:
- Theft of County money, equipment, supplies, data, or other property.
- Submitting invoices to the County to pay for fictitious or personal goods and services.
- Intentionally misrepresenting the cost of goods or services provided to the County.
- Forging or falsifying documents or accounts or financial records belonging to the County.
- Submitting false claims for travel or other expense reimbursements.
- Falsifying timecards or timesheets or payroll information.
- Impropriety in the handling or reporting of money or financial transactions.
- Use of County equipment or property for personal gain.
- Stealing a check the County issued to another payee.
- Inappropriate or unauthorized use, alteration, or manipulation of data, computer files, equipment, software, networks, or systems.
- Intentional use of false weights or measures.
Fraud can be perpetrated against the County by a person or entity outside the County government as well as by County officials and employees.
Waste involves the careless or extravagant expenditure of County funds, incurring unnecessary expenses, or mismanagement of County resources or property on a significant scale. Waste does not have to involve private use or personal gain, but usually signifies poor management decisions, practices, or controls. Examples of waste include but are not limited to:
- Unauthorized use or misuse of County property.
- Purchase of unneeded supplies or equipment.
- Purchase of goods at inflated prices.
- Incurring unnecessary costs because of inefficient or ineffective practices, systems, or controls.
- Failure to reuse or recycle major resources or reduce waste generation.
- Inefficiency involves an inability to do something in a well-organized or competent way, or the failure to implement processes as intended with minimal wasted time or resources. “Inefficiency” may also occur when the design of a program or policy fails to produce desired outcomes, despite the resources invested.
Abuse is the intentional, wrongful, improper use, or destruction of County resources. Abuse can include the excessive or improper use of an employee's or official's position in a manner other than its rightful or legal use. Examples of abuse include but are not limited to:
- Using a County position to gain an advantage when conducting personal business or to obtain or provide a County benefit or service for someone who does not qualify for it.
- Serious abuse of the County’s travel reimbursement system, unauthorized time away from work, or use of County time for personal business.
- Suspending or terminating an enforcement action based on a personal relationship.
- Bid-fixing or receiving favors for awarding contracts to certain vendors.
- Unauthorized disclosure of confidential or proprietary information.
- Failure to report damage to County equipment or property.
- Outside employment that conflicts with County employment.
Some actions may appear to be examples of both fraud and abuse. These types of reportable incidents can overlap.
