INVESTIGATIVE REPORT U.S. Census Bureau Allegations of Time and Attendance Fraud and Other Misconduct by Employees in the Census Hiring and Employment Check Office REPORT NUMBER 14-0790 SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 I. Basis for Investigation .......................................................................................................................... 1 II. Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 1 III. Background: Census Hiring and Employment Check Office ....................................................... 5 IV. Investigative Methodology .................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2: Time and Attendance Fraud ......................................................................... 7 I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 7 A. Legal Overview ............................................................................................................................. 7 B. Key Concepts Regarding Time and Attendance ................................................................... 8 II. Analysis ................................................................................................................................................. 10 A. Methodology............................................................................................................................... 10 B. Results .......................................................................................................................................... 12 C. Recurrent Types of Time and Attendance Abuse ............................................................. 14 D. Findings Regarding Specific CHEC Employees .................................................................... 19 E. Subject Review and Comments ............................................................................................. 29 III. Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 30 A. Numerous CHEC Employees Violated 18 U.S.C. §§ 287, 641, and 1001 When They Certified and Affirmed Time in WebTA That They Did Not Work ............................ 30 B. Numerous CHEC Employees Violated 5 C.F.R. § 2635.101 When They Certified and Affirmed Time in WebTA That They Did Not Work ...................................................... 31 Chapter 3: Misuse of Official Position and Preferential Treatment ............................... 32 I. Legal Overview ................................................................................................................................... 32 II. Findings Regarding Misuse of Official Position and Preferential Treatment in CHEC Office .................................................................................................................................................... 33 A. Facts ............................................................................................................................................. 35 B. Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 38 Chapter 4: Misconduct Related to the OIG’s Investigation ........................................ 41 I. Whistleblower Retaliation ............................................................................................................... 41 A. Legal Overview .......................................................................................................................... 41 B. Facts ............................................................................................................................................. 42 C. Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 43 REPORT NUMBER 14-0790 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL II. Interfering with the OIG’s Investigation ....................................................................................... 44 A. Legal Overview .......................................................................................................................... 44 B. Facts ............................................................................................................................................. 45 C. Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 46 III. False Statements and Lack of Candor ........................................................................................... 47 A. Employee 3 ................................................................................................................................. 47 B. Employee 4 ................................................................................................................................. 49 C. Summary Chart .......................................................................................................................... 50 Chapter 5: Observations Regarding Background Checks and Suitability Determinations ............................................................................................................. 52 I. Conflicts of Interest .......................................................................................................................... 52 II. Lack of Quality Control ................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 6: Recommendations ....................................................................................... 54 Appendix A: Accuracy and Reliability of the Badge Data ........................................... 56 REPORT NUMBER 14-0790 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL Chapter 1: Introduction I. Basis for Investigation On December 15, 2013, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Department”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) received a hotline complaint alleging that certain U.S. Census Bureau (“Census” or “Bureau”) employees had been fraudulently reporting their time and attendance. Specifically, the complaint alleged that six employees in the Census Hiring and Employment Check (“CHEC”) Office had regularly been recording and receiving pay for time not actually worked since at least 2010. The CHEC Office is responsible for conducting back- ground checks and making suitability determinations for the Census workers who visit the American public’s homes. The OIG referred the complaint to the Census Bureau and required the Bureau to notify the OIG of the disposition of the complaint. The Bureau informed the OIG that it found “significant misconduct related to the receipt of pay for time not worked on the part of each employee” named in the initial complaint. The Bureau further stated that it expanded its review to include three additional employees and found that those employees also engaged in the same misconduct. The Bureau proposed the removal (i.e., termination) of all nine employees. Due to the criminal implications of the conduct at issue, the OIG opened an investigation on June 16, 2014 regarding the fraudulent reporting of time and attendance by the subject employees. The OIG’s preliminary analysis not only confirmed significant discrepancies in time and attendance recording by the identified employees, but also indicated that the problem was much broader than a specific group of employees. The OIG therefore expanded the scope of its investigation to include a significant portion of the CHEC Office over a period of time. Further, during the course of our investigation, the OIG uncovered evidence of additional misconduct by certain CHEC employees, including the misuse of official position, whistleblower retaliation, and interfering with the OIG’s investigation. On October 27, 2014, the OIG presented the case for potential criminal prosecution to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland (“USAO”). The USAO informed the OIG that it had declined to prosecute the matter on April 8, 2015. II. Executive Summary The Census Hiring and Employment Check Office performs a sensitive task in the federal government, namely processing background checks for prospective Census Bureau employees and contractors, including personnel who walk door-to-door to millions of homes across America. Notwithstanding the importance of the CHEC Office’s mission, the evidence obtained over the course of the OIG’s investigation established that many CHEC employees engaged in pervasive misconduct over several years, including widespread time and attendance abuse, misuse of office, and repeated attempts to retaliate against a perceived whistleblower. REPORT NUMBER 14-0790 1 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL Widespread Time and Attendance Abuse The OIG used a wide range of analytical tools, including examining comprehensive sets of time and attendance