Hundreds of Cases of Telephone Abuse Found at USDA

Our review of four monthly telephone bills for USDA agencies and offices in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area found that 652 collect calls, or about 50 percent of all collect calls accepted and paid for by USDA during this 4-month period, were from individuals at 18 correctional institutions. Additionally, our review of just a few calls from the thousands of long-distance calls made by USDA agencies and offices in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area each month found several other cases of telephone abuse involving personal long-distance calls outside the country to adult entertainment services and companies advertising jobs. However, as discussed later in this report, USDA generally does not review its telephone bills to make such determinations. However, because many of these collect calls could have been transferred to long-distance lines, thousands more could have been added to USDA’s telephone bills. However, the Department did not take adequate action to stop the problem. USDA received credit for some collect calls from Lorton. Consequently, agency managers lack the information they need to determine whether telephones and long-distance services are used properly in accordance with departmental policy. Since USDA has not yet established adequate and cost-effective controls for ensuring that its telephones are used properly, it is putting itself at continuing risk of telephone abuse and fraud. However, because these bills are generally not reviewed, USDA does not know whether these calls are authorized and it cannot detect instances where telephone fraud and abuse may have occurred. While the Assistant Secretary did not respond to our specific recommendations, it is important for the Department to address actions it plans to take on each recommendation as it moves ahead in preventing telephone fraud and abuse. VISA and MasterCard credit cards are accepted, also.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) use of its telecommunications resources, focusing on: (1) whether USDA ensures that the commercial telephone and long-distance services it pays for are used in accordance with federal regulations and departmental policy; and (2) USDA efforts to address recommendations from a previous GAO report.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) during the 4-month period reviewed, collect calls from federal, state, and county correctional institutions were accepted at 20 USDA offices in the District of Columbia area and may have been transferred to USDA long-distance lines; (2) these collect calls amounted to 50 percent of the collect calls accepted at these USDA offices and cost about $2,600; (3) despite the discovery of inappropriately accepted collect calls as early as 1993, USDA did not initiate adequate measures to stop the abuses; (4) USDA offices in the District area made unauthorized long-distance calls, including international calls to adult entertainment lines and companies advertising jobs; (5) such fraud and abuse exist because USDA does not review its commercial telephone bills; (6) despite some positive actions to control fraud and abuse, USDA has not responded to GAO recommendations concerning the inappropriate use of its telecommunications resources; and (7) USDA is vulnerable to more fraud, waste, and abuse because it does not review its telephone and telephone credit card bills.