The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion of the fiscal operations of the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation with respect to the Coronavirus Relief Funds. A qualified opinion is issued when the noncompliances, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that, from May 1, 2020 to February 26, 2021, 4,607 economic incentives were granted to employees for $16,154,000 as part of the Coronavirus Relief Funds. The examination performed on the incentives granted from May 1 to 3, 2020 revealed that $38,000 was granted improperly.
The then auxiliary secretaries of Human Resources, Budget, and Finance, as well as the deputy secretary and the secretary of Correction and Rehabilitation, certified the lists of employees with errors in the social security number, in the incentive amounts, or in including inactive employees on the lists. The Comptroller's auditors identified, for example, six ineligible employees who received $23,500, two nurses who were not active and received $8,000, and two other employees who received $6,500 in excess.
The one-finding audit notes that the recovery efforts for the $38,000 were not documented, since neither the Collection Invoice nor the Notice of Debts was issued, in accordance with Regulation 44, Non-Tax Debts Existing in favor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In addition, one of the workers was granted a payment plan of 20 installments, which exceeds the 12 installments stipulated in Regulation 44, without the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.
This third report on the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation
covers the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021.
Audit Report DA-23-15 can be obtained on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr.
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