WASHINGTON, D.C.
The Veterans Affairs Department’s inspector general is investigating allegations that some employees illegally accepted gifts — possibly including free rides in helicopters and a stretch limo — from hotels they were scouting as possible locations for two conferences held last year.
A Capitol Hill staffer told Federal Times that the alleged gifts to conference organizers also may have included free lodging, food, alcohol, concert tickets, spa treatments and gift baskets. The IG has not reached any conclusions on those allegations yet, the staffer said.
VA spent $5 million on the two human resources training conferences at the Marriott World Center in Orlando, Fla., in July and August 2011. VA’s IG began investigating allegations of wasteful spending and improper acceptance of gratuities in April after receiving a tip on its hotline.
The staffer said the IG is investigating roughly $200,000 in questionable spending at the two conferences.
Courtesy of Federal Times
