TULSA — A statement released on Wednesday says the FBI is investigating possible embezzlement from the Tulsa County Facilities Authority.
Tulsa police were notified upon the discovery of a “significant amount of money" missing, and the FBI took over the case on April 1, TCPFA says.
“We have uncovered a potential embezzlement which occurred over the past several years,” president/CEO of Expo Square Mark Andrus said. “This is an injustice to those connected to our facility. Our focus is on accounting for and recovering all funds.”
A statement from the county details how staff determined there was a discrepancy in the financial records:
- 'In December 2017, management began questioning accounting processes and procedures. To address these concerns, a CPA / consultant was hired February 9, 2018. For the remainder of 2018, the consultant began evaluating the accounting staff, their procedures and implementing corrective action. This consultant has focused on implementing best practices in all areas related to accounting, including all transactions and deposits into TCPFA accounts."
- "On March 14, 2019, the consultant was reviewing the bank reconciliation and noticed several deposits had not cleared. Upon discovery, she requested a more detailed review of this account. In this review, it was determined there was a deposit missing from September 2018, which was confirmed on Monday, March 25, 2019. Last Monday’s findings initiated even further review, which has uncovered a significant amount of missing funds dating from December 2015 to September 4, 2018."
TCPFA is a public trust with an annual revenue of approximately $25 million.
The investigation is ongoing, but fairgrounds officials say operations and events there will not be impacted as a result.
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