State Audit Says OMES Abused Taxpayer Funds

A scathing state audit says the state's Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) abused billions of taxpayer funds while distributing federal COVID relief.

State Auditor Cindy Byrd looked at $13 billion spent by OMES in 2022.

A majority of that money was federal COVID relief funds.

Byrd says the audit is required by the federal government and says the most important finding is OMES did not get bids before hiring vendors to do jobs, which is required by the state.

Byrd's office states OMES was able to award contracts without getting bids because they changed the rules during COVID.

The largest amount of what auditors call “questioned costs” came from emergency rental assistance.

The federal government gave Oklahoma $276 million for rental assistance.

The state hired Communities Foundation of Oklahoma to run that program.

The audit says millions were spent incorrectly.

Questioned costs ranged from excessive fees, payments made without the correct documentation, and using credit cards for things like a cooking class, painting, and restaurant visits.

The audit found 21 million in questionable costs and says more than 5,000 Oklahomans did not get the rental help they needed during the pandemic.

State Auditor Cindy Byrd says the findings show there is a systemic lack of oversight and accountability at OMES.

"This problem started at OMES and could've been prevented by OMES if they had followed basic procurement procedures in contracting with this company," said Byrd.

The full audit can be found below:

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