A former city employee who stole, tried to sell city property

Investigators from the Austin Metropolis Auditor’s workplace have been fired a report This reveals a former worker of the Communications and Expertise Division who “stole and tried to promote a cellular gadget owned by town in December 2021.” That worker, former IT assist analyst Brian Cox, resigned from Metropolis in April 2022, thus avoiding firing.

In line with the report, which was launched final week, CTM workers found the theft after Cox tried to promote the gadget for $1,000 on a web based market. The put up included a photograph of what seemed to be a cellular gadget owned by town. CTM personnel notified the Austin Police Division, who recovered the gadget from Cox.

Cox initially informed police he didn’t have it earlier than finally turning the gadget over to APD.

The gadget was described within the report as “a handheld gadget supposed for public security personnel. This gadget was one among 29 that the producer despatched to the CTM Wi-fi Retailer for discipline testing by workers, together with Cox.” Though town examined the units, solely that she did not purchase any ultimately. In line with the report, the units have been made obtainable without charge and the producer clearly didn’t anticipate to return them.

When the audit workforce spoke to Cox, he informed them “he had discovered the gadget in one among his outdated work baggage.” Cox stated he determined to put up the gadget on the market on-line relatively than return it, as a result of he didn’t need to take care of the “headache” of returning it. Cox asserted he didn’t have permission to promote The gadget. He additionally admitted attempting to promote the gadget for $1,000 however denied attempting to promote another gadgets from the wi-fi retailer.”

When given the chance to reply to the allegations, Cox didn’t deny taking the gadget and apologized for “giving the COA CTM Wi-fi Division motive for this investigation.”

In the midst of the investigation, investigators checked out CTM’s stock information, which initially appeared to indicate about $29,000 in lacking stock. Nonetheless, after the employees did some extra analysis, the worth of the lacking stock was decreased to about $11,000. The investigators wrote, “We couldn’t decide whether or not any of the lacking stock was stolen, misplaced, or in use however not correctly accounted for.” Individually, the wi-fi retailer stated it couldn’t account for 2 of the identical cellular units that Cox tried to promote. “.

In conducting the investigation into the Wi-fi Retailer’s stock, the auditors “discovered a number of examples of poor controls and procedures associated to stock administration. Particularly, the Wi-fi Retailer was not conserving observe of experimental merchandise, such because the gadget Cox tried to promote, in the identical approach that it might usually use bought stock.” “. The auditors additionally discovered what they referred to as “poor segregation of duties inside the Wi-fi Retailer. All Wi-fi Retailer workers can obtain shipments, in addition to enter and take away stock from the shop’s stock administration software program. Moreover, as soon as gadgets are faraway from stock, there aren’t any information of which gadgets correctly disposed of. These circumstances can improve the danger of theft.”

The audit workforce concluded that the wi-fi retailer addressed lots of the points talked about within the report. CTM now tracks trial merchandise in the identical approach it tracks bought gear and the division has improved the way it tracks stock.

Michael Yamma labored as a Senior Investigator in Audit.

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