A Maryland government agency responsible for confiscating seized alcohol and tobacco failed to properly keep track of thousands of items, according to a state audit. “Control and accountability over confiscated property was not sufficient,” said the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits in a report on the Comptroller’s Field Enforcement Division.
State investigators found that annually required inventories of booze and tobacco were not performed and that division reports did not accurately reflect the products in the government’s possession.
“Inventory couldn’t be located and they didn’t go back and figure out where it was,” legislative auditor Bruce Myers told The Washington Examiner. “In addition, we found that records for items that had been disposed of had not been updated.”
In a test of roughly 26,000 items reported in the division’s possession, auditors noted that 15,330 of the items had been thrown away — some as far back as September 2008 — raising questions about the reliability of the inventory.
Records show that during fiscal 2010 the division confiscated 72,000 packs of cigarettes and 6,900 containers of alcohol.
Responding to the audit, Deputy Comptroller Linda Tanton said officials attempted to perform assessments quarterly but could not because of the “fluid nature of confiscated property.”
The Field Enforcement Division has completed a full inventory of confiscated property since the audit, Tanton said, adding officials “fully reconciled the listing with the actual physical inventory.”
Employees in the comptroller’s office vowed to perform annual tests in the future. The division did not verify adjustments to payroll reports, such as overtime and unused leave costs, the audit also found.
The Field Enforcement Division oversees trade regulations and revenue law related to alcohol, tobacco, motor fuel and sales and use taxes. According to state records, the division spent $4.7 million in fiscal 2010.
