Three sacked as screw turns on council cheats
Anti-fraud investigators at Lincolnshire's biggest council have sacked three people and passed another three cases onto police.
False time sheets, forged cheques and wrong insurance claims totalling more than £300,000 are among the cases landing in investigators' in-trays.
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County Hall.
Lincolnshire County Council has managed to claw back £132,400 in false payments. But it suspects that at least £319,850 has been stolen - not counting other cases where losses have yet to be identified.
The council has an entire department dedicated to looking into claims of fraud made about both its staff and its contractors.
In addition to the three dismissals, the authority issued final written warnings to 11 employees.
Four members of staff resigned, one was given a police caution and another one was prosecuted.
Head of corporate audit Lucy Pledge said she fears that fraud will rise during the recession.
"The economic downturn increases the risk," she said, adding, "we want more of these cases to be prosecuted by police".
For more on the fraud investigations at Lincolnshire County Council, see Tuesday's Echo.
11 Comments
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by Geoffrey G Brooking, Milton
Thursday, April 30 2009, 9:42AM
“Indeed McDonald.
Not just Labour members with noses in the trough then?
Sometimes I just wonder if any member of the Labour Party be trusted by the public these days?
With sincere apologies to the countries that actually grow bananas, am I not the only one thinking that the longer this Labour lot at national level are in power, the more this country actually gets like a banana republic?
I seem to remember when abuses of power were met with public outrage, so powerful that it completely disolved the last Conservative Government thanks to cries of sleaze from the likes of Blair, Brown and Prescott.
These days though under Labour all of this and worse seems to be just par for the course.
Yet so long as this government limps on Gordon Brown and the rest of his Old Labour apparatchiks will continue to think that they are better than we outsiders.
Well Gordon, as the European Elections will hopefully prove, you are sadly not!”
by lynn, lincoln
Tuesday, April 28 2009, 2:56PM
“M C Donald - When I was employed as a civil servant, the tools for the job, i.e. pens, sellotape etc, were of such a cheap nasty quality, that I chose to supply my own. And to cut down the stationery bill they even stopped supplying post-its, paper clips were not bought in either.”
by Mick, Saxilby
Tuesday, April 28 2009, 2:25PM
“I appluad the County Council for dedicating the necessary resources to unearth these scams.
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Lets hope it acts as a deterrent to others
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by M C Donald, Lincoln
Tuesday, April 28 2009, 10:59AM
“'Let's face it most people take home the odd pen or roll of sellotape, but this is theft on a grand scale.' Lynn that may be true, but think about it, if every one of the council's 16,000 employees took home just one pen or roll of sellotape a year to a value of 50p. That would amount to £8,000. If everyone fiddled their expense claims or time cards to a value of £10 over a year. That would mean £160,000 had been pinched. What might seem small and insignificant on an individual basis, soon mounts up. Theft is theft.”
by W.Wilkins, Lincoln
Tuesday, April 28 2009, 10:52AM
“Oh in this day and age Lynn im fairly certain they will land on their feet. It certainly looks like people have moved on from wanting the odd pen or a roll of sellotape.”