BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — An audit by the Erie County Comptroller's Office found there is a potential fraud occurring in the Erie County Clerk's Office, with thousands of dollars unaccounted for and evidence of data manipulation.
“There was an alarming lack of internal controls and oversight. It was almost an invitation for someone to take money," said Comptroller Kevin Hardwick in an interview with 7 News.
He says the audit found cash discrepancies in 28 of the 40 days for records they reviewed from the clerk's office. They now believe at least $90,000 is unaccounted for, with the potential for a lot more.
I-Team Investigator Sean Mickey: “Is it possible that this is still happening today – right now?”
Comptroller Hardwick: “If there is someone taking money from the county they would be foolish to continue it now. However, recently the cash discrepancies have continued, this pattern has continued which quite frankly was a little bit surprising to me because I thought once auditors showed up there, if anyone was doing anything untoward, they would knock it off.”
Hardwick says his office faced unusual delays in its audit while dealing with the clerk's office, and many of the documents requested were never provided.
“My audit staff was very frustrated," said Hardwick. "They probably could have completed this audit in a lot shorter time period. But at every turn it seemed for quite a while the clerk’s office was unresponsive to our requests.”
Despite the initial issues between the two offices, Hardwick says he has since met with Clerk Mickey Kearns and the two are now partners in the investigation.
“The clerk wants to get to the bottom of this as much, if not more than, we do," Hardwick added.
Kearns released a statement Monday that read in part, "So as to not jeopardize the integrity of the investigation I will have no further statements until the investigation has been concluded.”
Multiple agencies are investigating the fraud, including the Erie County Sheriff's Office, Erie County District Attorney and New York State Comptroller.
Read the full audit here:
Audit of Erie County Clerk's Office by Sean Mickey on Scribd
