A lawsuit filed by the District against self-described billionaire Don Peebles over $1.2 million in alleged overbilling highlights the District’s systemic failure to track its bills.

The lawsuit filed by D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles alleges Peebles’ property company, which leases property to the city, charged the District for donations made to the political campaigns and political action committees of three council members. It also says Peebles’ company billed the city for champagne and valet parking at a “fundraiser” held at Miami’s Bath Club, which Peebles owns. Those and other charges added up to $1.2 million between 2007 and 2009, the years an independent auditor examined after the city received a $3 million bill from Peebles in February, the lawsuit says. The audit found that the city paid $600,000 of the improper bills.