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SUMMARY
In April 2007, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office requested that the Office of the Auditor General (Office) investigate potential conflict-of-interest violations by former Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services (Department) Director, Mr. Patrick Chorpenning, Sr., in regard to his son’s employment. In October 2008, the Office became aware of other possible misconduct by Mr. Chorpenning, including misuse of public monies, procurement fraud, and additional conflicts of interest. As a result of our investigation, we determined that from July 2002 to September 2007, Mr. Chorpenning authorized the expenditure of $1,001,640 (as outlined below) in possible violation of several state laws. We have submitted our report to the Attorney General’s Office, and they have taken criminal action against Mr. Chorpenning (see the Conclusion on page 27 of this report).
Specifically, Mr. Chorpenning may have violated:
- Conflict-of-interest laws by participating in authorizing his son’s employment agreements with the Department on four occasions and failing to disclose his conflict. Payments for his son’s employment totaled $215,984.
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Conflict-of-interest laws by directing department employees to hire his wife, creating a position for her, and later approving a 35 percent increase to her salary. Mr. Chorpenning’s wife collected $114,104 in department payments.
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State laws concerning the use of public monies by improperly gifting public monies to individuals and private corporations totaling $288,795.
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State laws concerning the use of public monies and procurement fraud by circumventing procurement rules in order to purchase media and advertising services totaling $382,757.
Further, Mr. Chorpenning may have violated state laws concerning fraudulent schemes by attempting to conceal his improper involvement in hiring his son and his wife. Despite direct inquiries, he failed to inform the Arizona Governor’s Office that the Department was paying for his son’s employment, and he misled the Governor’s Office regarding the circumstances of his wife’s initial hire. Additionally, Mr. Chorpenning’s wife may have violated public document laws by falsifying her employment application and filing it with the Department. As a public official, Mr. Chorpenning had a fiduciary duty to Arizona’s citizens, in general, and to Arizona veterans and their families, in particular, for ensuring the prudent use of public money. However, Mr. Chorpenning failed in his responsibilities to the public by violating conflict-of-interest statutes, misusing public monies, and circumventing the Arizona Procurement Code. Although no internal control system can totally prevent dishonest actions such as Mr. Chorpenning’s, there are actions the Department can take to help deter future instances of misconduct. See Recommendations on page 25 of this report.
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