The Qui Tam Team

14 whistle-blower reprisal allegations have been received by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, according to their quarterly report released on Monday.  1,771 fraud complaints about the $787 billion economic stimulus package have been received through February 2010.  There are 147 on-going investigations and 43 of those investigations have been accepted for prosecution.  A board spokesman told the Washington Post that not all 43 cases will result in criminal cases and some of the cases may remain under investigation up to several years.  There are also 400 audits of stimulus fund recipients being conducted by the inspectors general.

The board, chaired by Earl E. Devaney, was established to provide transparency of stimulus spending.  The data collected by the board is designed to help track and prevent fraud.  Out of seven report error categories, six have been just about or fully corrected during this quarter as the report shows.  “The value that transparency brings to the oversight mission should not be underestimated.  For the first time ever we can screen and analyze federal contracts, grants, and loans funded by a government program from within a single database.  We also continue to leverage the experience of the Inspector General (IG) community by pairing traditional investigative techniques with refined technologies to examine whether government funds are allocated efficiently and effectively”, Devaney states in his message prefacing the report.

“The mission of the Recovery Board is unique.  In our government’s history, no single oversight board has ever been charged with such broad responsibility for transparency and oversight…It will require continuous vigilance and adaptability,” The Bottom Line of the report states.

Read the full report here.

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