Audit: Ex-employee stole $1.3 million from Austin
Randall Whited, a former employee of Austin Public Library, stole at least $1.3 million from the city by purchasing printer toner with a city credit card and reselling it online, according to an investigation released by the Office of the City Auditor Monday.
The audit also alleges that Whited misused his city credit card by purchasing electronics and home goods for himself. A Travis County grand jury indicted Whited for first-degree felony theft following an Austin Police Department investigation that stemmed from work done by the city auditor. The theft of more than $200,000 in an aggregated amount is enhanced because Whited was a public servant and had two previous theft convictions, according to the indictment.
Records from the Hays County Sheriff’s Department show that Whited, 53, was booked into jail on a felony theft charge on Sept. 22 and released the following day on bond. Whited’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment. The indictment says Whited could face additional time in prison if convicted because of previous convictions for theft, one in 1993 and one in 1989.
Brian Molloy, chief of investigations for the auditor’s office, told the Austin Monitor, “This the largest case our office has investigated involving fraud and abuse.” Although the case appears to be “a huge outlier as far as size goes,” auditors were concerned that other city employees might be misusing their purchasing authority. But after running tests on city credit card records, Molloy said, “No one was purchasing in any of the ways that matched Randall’s MO.”
Read more: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2020/10/audit-ex-employee-stole-1-3-million-from-city/
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