Report: Richmond school employee was overpaid

A Richmond school employee was overpaid by about $2,000 based on records falsified by his supervisor, with whom he had a personal relationship and later married, according to a report released yesterday by the city auditor.

In a letter dated Monday, the auditor, Umesh Dalal, told School Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon that his investigation found "a conflict of interest, falsification of records and abuse of [Richmond Public Schools'] resources."

Brandon said in a statement that "swift and appropriate personnel actions have been taken. Additional personnel actions will be taken as appropriate." It wasn't clear what those actions were, but Dalal said after Brandon released her statement that he was satisfied.

"If they took the action they said, then it's appropriate," he said.

The investigation was triggered by a call to the city's fraud-abuse hotline. The school system would not release the names of the supervisor or the employee.

According to the Dalal letter, the caller alleged that a school supervisor hired someone with whom she had a relationship. The caller also alleged that the employee wasn't qualified for the job and was paid for work he did not perform.

Dalal's staff determined that the employee was qualified for his job but that he had been paid for hours not worked.

Documentation backing up the payments was incomplete, the report states.

"Upon a second request, more documentation was submitted which appeared to have been created after the second request was made," the report reads. "In an interview, the supervisor admitted to creating the missing documents after they were requested the second time. The supervisor was unable to explain the overpayment to the employee."

School Board policy discourages but doesn't specifically prohibit relatives from working together. "The employment and assignment of close relatives in the same organizational unit shall be discouraged," it reads.

"We'll do whatever we can to make sure controls are in place," said School Board Vice Chairwoman Kimberly B. Gray.

The investigation was the 85th based on a call to the fraud line since July 1.

Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or .