Pentagon Reimbursed Employees for Casino, Strip Club Visits
- Scathing report issued against Pentagon for failure to emphasize correct use of Government-issued credit cards when traveling
- Army lieutenant colonel failed to report $2,242 in casino charges to his commander
- Report is follow up to audit that uncovered 4,437 transactions worth $952,258 spent at casinos.
- Another 900 transactions worth $96,576 occurred at strip clubs
- Another 900 transactions worth $96,576 occurred at strip clubs
- From a sample of 30 credit card holders, 22 sought reimbursements for the casino and/or strip club visits with a portion paid out
Top Department of Defense officials failed to take appropriate actions after it was discovered that employees used US Government issued credit cards to pay for casino and strip club visits, according to an inspector general report released on Tuesday.
“DoD management did not take appropriate action when notified that cardholders potentially misused their travel card at casinos and adult entertainment establishments,” the report says. “Specifically, DoD management and travel card officials did not perform adequate reviews for the cardholders reviewed and did not take action to eliminate additional misuse.”
The Pentagon’s failure to emphasize proper use of travel cards resulted in national security vulnerabilities, the report emphasized.
Of special note, the Pentagon was criticized for failing to provide help for those with gambling addictions.
The Hill cites one case in which the DoD failed to adequately follow up in a matter concerning an employee’s card use at a casino.
In one case highlighted by the report, an army lieutenant colonel told an agency program coordinator at the Defense Travel Management Office that he would tell his commander about his card use after the inspector general found $2,242 in casino charges.
Month later, the audit team met with the commander, who was unaware of the issue, according to the report. After that, the commander deactivated the lieutenant colonel’s card, barred him from travelling and suspended his security clearance.
A previous audit uncovered 4,437 transactions worth $952,258 spent at casinos while another 900 transactions worth $96,576 occurred at strip clubs.
In one of the more egregious cases, a member of the Air Force was demoted after spending $4,686 at Sapphire Gentlemen's Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. He even tried spending nearly $1000 more but had already exceeded his limit.
The most recent report sought to uncover whether the Pentagon had reimbursed employees for these charges.
The Senate Armed Services Committee requested the follow-on investigation last year once the improper charges were revealed.
"Our objective is to determine whether (Defense Department) cardholders who used government travel cards at casinos and adult entertainment establishments for personal use sought or received reimbursement for the charges," the memo said.
The Hill notes that, of a sample 30 cardholders reviewed, 22 sought and received reimbursements on 131 vouchers that totaled $8544.
The Pentagon insists that improper payments were only a small percentage of the overall travel charges.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
