2008 Woodie Awards
Fraud suspected in project office
Local police say they have not been contacted for official investigation
By: Andy Dierker
Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Irregularities in the university's Project Management Office have resulted in a fraud investigation, according to statements made at the Sept. 21 Faculty Senate meeting by President Richard Meyers and Vice President for Finance Dave Garafola.
The statements were the first official mention of the investigation's nature.
Michael Hulsizer, vice president of the Faculty Senate, said the administration officials were tight-lipped about details, but made it clear they were looking into fraud specifically.
"Dave Garafola explicitly made the distinction that it wasn't embezzlement and that it was fraud," Hulsizer said.
Joe Stimpfl, senator for the College of Arts and Sciences, said it wasn't clear what this meant. He said fraud generally implies that someone had falsified records or misrepresented themselves to obtain money, as opposed to embezzlement, which implies someone simply took money from the university's coffers.
"Embezzlement would be like working in a store and you figured out how to steal, so you were just taking money from the cash register," Stimpfl said. "Fraud would be going through an official channel and saying you're doing something you're not."
"They kind of left it to us to determine what that meant," Stimpfl said. "I interpreted it to mean that it wasn't one person. The question was asked if this was solely an internal matter, an external matter, or both - and the answer was both."
News of the investigation came Sept. 18 when Meyers sent an e-mail to faculty alertingthem that Garafola had discovered "irregularities" in the PMO. The PMO is a part of the Finance Office and handles university projects like building construction and campus development.
In the e-mail, Meyers said faculty should be prepared to see the school's external auditors on campus investigating the matter and that "the appropriate law enforcement agencies (had) been contacted."
But according to officials at the Webster Groves Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney's Office, no complaint had been filed by Webster University regarding any sort of fraud.
"I spoke with our lead investigators in the detective bureau and as of now there is no fraud investigation at Webster University," said Lt. Stephen Spear of the Webster Groves Police Department.
Keith Wildhaber, a detective in the St. Louis County Police Fraud Unit, said, "If it happened in Webster Groves, then their department would handle it."
Wildhaber said if the fraud occurred outside of Webster Groves - at one of the extended campuses, for instance - the complaint might have been filed with the agency in that jurisdiction.
But university officials would not comment on what law enforcement agencies had been contacted, saying it was a legal matter.
"Because all of this stuff is being looked into, we just can't talk about it right now," said Polly Burtch, director of news and public information in the Office of Public Affairs.
The statements were the first official mention of the investigation's nature.
Michael Hulsizer, vice president of the Faculty Senate, said the administration officials were tight-lipped about details, but made it clear they were looking into fraud specifically.
"Dave Garafola explicitly made the distinction that it wasn't embezzlement and that it was fraud," Hulsizer said.
Joe Stimpfl, senator for the College of Arts and Sciences, said it wasn't clear what this meant. He said fraud generally implies that someone had falsified records or misrepresented themselves to obtain money, as opposed to embezzlement, which implies someone simply took money from the university's coffers.
"Embezzlement would be like working in a store and you figured out how to steal, so you were just taking money from the cash register," Stimpfl said. "Fraud would be going through an official channel and saying you're doing something you're not."
"They kind of left it to us to determine what that meant," Stimpfl said. "I interpreted it to mean that it wasn't one person. The question was asked if this was solely an internal matter, an external matter, or both - and the answer was both."
News of the investigation came Sept. 18 when Meyers sent an e-mail to faculty alertingthem that Garafola had discovered "irregularities" in the PMO. The PMO is a part of the Finance Office and handles university projects like building construction and campus development.
In the e-mail, Meyers said faculty should be prepared to see the school's external auditors on campus investigating the matter and that "the appropriate law enforcement agencies (had) been contacted."
But according to officials at the Webster Groves Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney's Office, no complaint had been filed by Webster University regarding any sort of fraud.
"I spoke with our lead investigators in the detective bureau and as of now there is no fraud investigation at Webster University," said Lt. Stephen Spear of the Webster Groves Police Department.
Keith Wildhaber, a detective in the St. Louis County Police Fraud Unit, said, "If it happened in Webster Groves, then their department would handle it."
Wildhaber said if the fraud occurred outside of Webster Groves - at one of the extended campuses, for instance - the complaint might have been filed with the agency in that jurisdiction.
But university officials would not comment on what law enforcement agencies had been contacted, saying it was a legal matter.
"Because all of this stuff is being looked into, we just can't talk about it right now," said Polly Burtch, director of news and public information in the Office of Public Affairs.
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