U.S. State Department’s $1 Billion Armored Vehicle Fleet at ‘Risk for Fraud, Waste and Abuse’
- Vehicle program at ‘significant risk’ for fraud, waste, abuse
- Audit uncovered stockpiled vessels in U.S., poor maintenance
Secretary of State John Kerry gets in his vehicle after a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House on July 30, 2013, in Washington.
Photographer: T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty ImagesThe U.S. State Department’s diplomatic security branch has mismanaged its $1 billion fleet of armored vehicles used to transport personnel and dignitaries so that the program “continues to be at significant risk for fraud, waste and abuse,” according to the department’s .
One allegation of fraud surfaced last month as a State employee was accused by the Justice Department of diverting 12 vehicles to a Springfield, Virginia, car-repair shop for resale and pocketing some of the profits, the audit said. Auditors also warned of poorly maintained vehicles at embassies -- with systemic low tire pressures and significant ballistic glass delamination -- “creating safety concerns and wasting taxpayer money.”