What is the purpose of the fraud hotline?

The hotline is set up to allow City residents, City employees or any other concerned individual to report information about fraud, waste or abuse of resources related to or involving City personnel, resources, or operations to the Office of Internal Audit.

Who operates the hotline?

The hotline is managed by the Director of the Office of Internal Audit as well as staff of the Office of Internal Audit.

When should you report your concern?

A report should be submitted through the fraud hotline as soon as possible after you believe a reportable offense has occurred. 

What are some examples of a reportable offense?

• Theft of City resources
• Conflicts of interest
• Fictitious claims
• Contract or procurement violations
• Misuse of City property
• Ethical violations
• Embezzlement of finances
• Bribes, kickbacks
• Abuse of work hours
• City policy violations

Once the Office of Internal Audit receives a tip, what happens next?

Each report is given a unique case number and is logged by staff members of the Office of Internal Audit into a secure database.  Subsequently, each report will be assessed for merit and disposition and will be prioritized for investigation or dissolution. 

If a report is deemed to have merit, the Office of Internal Audit will schedule an investigation of the reported activities into our Audit Plan and will issue a report at the conclusion of our investigation.  In some instances, the investigation may take place immediately following the report or it may take place months later, depending on the materiality of the activity to the City.   

When a report is determined to have merit but is outside the scope of the Office of Internal Audit's purview, it will be referred to the appropriate party for follow-up action.  Such parties may include another city department, federal agency, or local law enforcement agency. 

Reports that are deemed to be immaterial, vague or baseless will receive no further follow-up.

If you elect to disclose your contact information, you may be contacted by a staff member in the Office of Internal Audit during the course of our investigation.

How can I find out the status of my hotline case?

Disposition information will only be communicated at the direction of the Director of the Office of Internal Audit.  The Office of Internal Audit will contact only those individuals who filed a report and provided contact information.