Misuse of government funds could lead to jail time Published Oct. 31, 2008 By Wayne Crenshaw 78th ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Tucked away in the corner of a large office space at Robins are four small cubicles occupied by friendly, easy going people who should be feared by anyone misusing a government purchasing card. Their job is to issue and provide oversight of the 636 cards currently in use at Robins. Every purchase made on the cards is reviewed to one extent or another by the office. Misuse of those cards can lead to any of the following: polite rebuke, loss of the right to use the card, a reprimand, a suspension without pay, loss of job, or in the recent case of two former Robins employees, a trip to federal prison. Derwin Laster, manager of the government purchasing card program, said an anonymous phone call five years ago alerted him to the shady dealings that led to the recent criminal conviction on charges of misusing government funds. The tip was turned over to the Office of Special Investigations, which ultimately led to conviction of four Robins employees, two of whom had pleaded guilty earlier. He still can't mask his anger when recalling his reaction to learning about the problem. "I was highly perturbed," he said. "To have somebody knowing and scheming to do something detrimental to the process ... I had some less-than-Christian thoughts." Many of the problems the office finds with use of the cards aren't criminal in nature, Mr. Laster said. Most of the time it's something the buyer wasn't trying to hide, but made a purchase that wasn't authorized or proper under the rules of the card use. Those rules are detailed enough that anyone getting a card - good for making purchases up to $3,000 - has to first sit through a day-long class, plus take an Internet course. In many cases, when Mr. Laster finds a problem, he will simply inform the user why the purchase was wrong and reverse the charges. Other times the user might simply lose card privileges, but when there is a clear intent of misuse it moves toward disciplinary action or criminal investigation. Mr. Laster's best advice for anyone making a purchase with a government card is to call his office if there is any doubt. "I would much rather you ask me a question than have me ask you a question about a purchase and not like the answer I got back," he said. He also invites anyone who may suspect card misuse to call him, although he noted tips will only be useful if there is specific information, such as the name of the alleged culprit. He also said any cardholder approached by a business with any proposal that sounds suspicious should contact him. The tip in the recent criminal case was critical, he said, because the suspects were in collusion with a company. The company was falsifying shipping records to make it appear items were being shipped that actually were not. On paper the transactions looked good so his office couldn't have caught the problem just by looking at the records. Since that time, however, technology has improved the oversight process. Previously the billing records his office would review only showed the dollar amount of purchases made from each business, but now the records show the kinds of items purchased, making it much easier to identify misuse. Laster said he believes most card holders are conscientious about following the rules.