The D.C. Taxicab Commission’s failure to use internal controls when collecting more than $1.1 million in license payments made it possible for employees to steal from the agency, an audit concluded. The audit found that the commission couldn’t account for all of the license payments it received between 2005 and 2008, in part because it did no accurately document and track financial transactions. That’s the same period during which a bribes-for-licenses scheme took hold, authorities say. It was busted in September 2009 by the FBI, which revealed taxicab Commissioner Leon Swain had been working with federal investigators since late 2007. More than 39 people were indicted, including the former chief of staff of Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham.
D.C. Auditor Deborah Nichols’ report on the commission released earlier this month didn’t find any conclusive evidence of fraud or lost money. It did, however, find that 16 percent of taxicab license applications failed to note whether the fee had been paid. From 2005 to 2008, the commission could have collected more than the $1.1 million in fees it was able to account for, the report said.
“Failure to implement and adhere to basic internal controls over the collection of payments exposed these revenues to unreasonable risks of loss, misuse, misappropriation, and lack of documented accountability,” the audit said. “As a result, the Auditor could not be assured that the Commission Fund’s revenue balance was accurate and fully accounted for or whether some fees were collected and misappropriated.”
The audit did find that in late 2008 the taxicab commission began using a software system used across District agencies to record payments. The software, the audit said, makes it so commission employees no longer have to manually complete the pay section of the application, reducing the possibility that payments could be lost.
But there’s still no written policy on how employees should use the system, and Nichols recommended the agency create one to provide greater accountability.
A commission spokeswoman declined to comment and it remains unclear if the agency will follow the recommendation.
