The University System of Maryland will implement an anonymous hotline for reporting suspected fraud “any day now,” according to a system official.
Under the plan, which was approved by the Board of Regents at its April 16 meeting, members of the system community will be able to report fraud through a telephone number, website, fax or mail. New federal regulations prompted the creation of the hotline, which Office of Internal Audit Director David Mosca said would be implemented very soon.
Allegations of fraud received by the hotline will be evaluated by the Office of Internal Audit, which may choose to involve individual institutions or the Office of the Attorney General in investigations, according to the policy.
Mosca said it’s unclear whether the hotline will help to curb fraud — which generally involves deceit for monetary gain — in the system, although he said it might act as an additional deterrent. The university system has fallen victim to fraud in the past, Mosca said.
In one such case, an employee used a procurement card — a credit card-like item meant for official purchases — for personal use, bilking a university out of more than $300,000, Mosca said. On other occasions, employees have stolen from cash funds.
“Some years we don’t have any fraud, or it’s not discovered,” Mosca said. “Some years there are frequent reports of fraud. Usually they’re small in nature and usually an institution catches it early on.”
Had it existed at the time, Mosca said the fraud hotline could have, for example, played a part in the controversy surrounding former University of Maryland Law School Dean Karen Rothenberg, who accepted “questionable compensation payments,” according to a state audit.
System officials will publicize the hotline through posters and possibly business cards, Mosca said. He said announcements and e-mails about the hotline’s creation should contain information about what constitutes fraud.
Other mechanisms already exist to report such wrongdoings, he said, including university police departments and a fraud hotline operated by the state’s Office of Legislative Audits. University President Dan Mote said the university occasionally receives anonymous fraud tips by letter.
“I think it’s not a bad thing to have,” said Mote, adding “time will tell” whether the hotline leads to more useful fraud tips. Mote also said allowing anonymity opens the door for people to use the hotline for their own personal complaints.
“When people don’t identify themselves, they can be less credible in some ways,” Mote said. “When people have to identify themselves, they usually are more careful about whether their personal interests will be exposed.”
When other institutions have implemented similar hotlines, they have seen spikes in fraud complaints, but in many cases the actions in question are not truly fraud but personnel decisions, Mosca said.
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