http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896 An audit by the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gao.gov/">Government Accountability Office</a> determined that nearly half of all government "purchase card" transactions that were <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/08/AR2008040802718.html?sid=ST2008040803504">reviewed were improper</a>.   en-us Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:11:07 EST Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:19:07 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#10 I wonder if it was the same incident, or yet another? Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:19:07 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#9 That sounds like <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amconmag.com/2005/2005_10_24/cover.html">SOP for the CPA</a>:<p> <i>In one notorious incident in April 2004, $1.5 billion in cash that had just been delivered by three Blackhawk helicopters was handed ove Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:45:47 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#8 <i>misplaced palettes of cash in Iraq</i><p> I got to talking with some Boy Scout adult leaders (we were doing some volunteer work together) about a year or so ago, and one of them told me an interesting tale.  His son-in-law was a captain in the Army Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:21:41 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#7 The report does not mention the total amount of fraud, but I would be willing to bet that it is like a gnat on the ocean of macroscopic government waste.  300,000 individuals with $2,500 lines of credit can hardly do damage on the scale of defense pro Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:45:05 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#6 <i>"How do they get away with this stuff?"</i><p> Good question.  When I was working at a hospital, and we had to travel, we had to put it on our <i>personal</i> credit card.  When we got back, we had to submit a detailed summary of charges and t Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:03:58 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#5 When I was in student government, one of my compatriots "misappropriated" over $15,000 in funds. I, as a fellow student, was the one who caught her--not any of the checks and balances in the profession finance department. One of the transgressions included Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:34:59 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#4 <i>Also, port1080, when did you start using an online dating service? How's that working out for ya?</i><br> <p><br> Ass.  It was a hypothetical, drawn from the original writeup, where it was noted that "-A postmaster spent $1,100 on online dating ser Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:00:27 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#3 Seriously. The system here works like this: I buy everything up front on my credit card and eventually when some overpaid and underworked person in administration gets around to it I get my money back. Last year I had to rent a car for trip to a conference Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:51:00 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#2 These cards are issued to a set number of people who might need to to go out and purchase supplies or services with them.  They are supposed to be for authorized purchases only, of course.  But there is no real up front approval process the card Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:09:14 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/4/9/134155/5896#1 How do they get away with this stuff?  At my university, I've at various times been able to "expense" some things, like meals or travel expenses, when going to conferences or doing work for the university.  Every item expensed is reviewed and app Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:19:31 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/