KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An investigation is underway into the alleged misuse of government-issued credit cards issued for the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County, according to new court documents.
The development was uncovered after the KSHB 41 I-Team filed an open records request to the district court for Douglas County, Kansas.
A judge denied our request for any documents related to a search warrant executed on the Unified Government last Wednesday.
Read the judge's denial of records
However, the document confirmed the nature of the investigation citing two Kansas statutes, K.S.A. 21-5828 and K.S.A. 21-5824, which are criminal use of a financial card and making false information.
A court clerk added the case is filed under seal.
The I-Team contacted the Unified Government for a comment. A spokeswoman said they could not comment on an ongoing investigation, but that the UG was "cooperating fully with the authorities."
KBI investigators searched the Unified Government building, but didn’t specify which department. The agency only said the search warrant was related to an ongoing investigation made against certain employees of the UG.
The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office received the allegations and determined an investigation was needed. Investigators started looking into the matter on June 23.
On July 28, consultants presented afinancial assessmentof the Unified Government’s finance department.
Some of the findings included “significant use of P-Cards within the UG.” The assessment said more than 360 employees currently have purchasing cards.
Consultants issued several recommendations including assessing “current P-Card purchasing practices and spending trends.”
They also recommended “in-depth, external audits of P-Card usage and areas for improvement.”
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