FAYETTEVILLE -- An ex-University of Arkansas at Little Rock employee is accused of taking more than $42,000 from the university, according to an internal audit approved by UA System trustees Friday.
Katie Lewis, who used to work as an administrative assistant in the university's department of music, used UALR procurement and travel cards for a total of $38,662.55, auditors said. She is also accused of taking computers that were missing from the department, the audit said.
Management at UALR notified the University of Arkansas System's internal audit office and the Arkansas Legislative Audit in November 2015 about possible missing funds. Lewis had resigned Oct. 1, 2015, and later, department Chairman Jeremy Lane saw some "suspicious transactions" when creating a log of procurement for the school's Office of Procurement Services.
The internal audit spans from July 1, 2014, to Oct. 31, 2015, and looks at all transactions on the procurement and travel cards.
Internal auditors found that the procurement card was used 47 times for a total of $9,067.89, all of which was processed through a square reader. Square readers attach to smartphones or tablets and allow businesses or individuals to complete sales transactions using credit or debit cards.
Of all the transactions, 34 were under the same city, state and tax identification number, UALR's credit card company said. Many of the receipts from the transactions also did not list a phone number or address for the vendor. Auditors were able to determine an actual vendor on only one transaction, a total of $141.70, according to the audit.
The auditors also learned that 83 transactions totaling $29,736.36 were processed using a square reader. None of those vendors could be confirmed.
The music department chairman had also reported an unlisted number of missing computers, all of which came from the department's fixed asset inventory, according to the audit.
"Prior to the start of the audit, UALR's management had already requested a police investigation of potential losses occurring within the Music Department," Jacob Flournoy, said in a letter to the UA System's chief audit executive. He said the police opened an investigation.
Attorneys have been trying to get reimbursement from Lewis but have not yet succeeded.
Lewis did not return a message left for her by a reporter Friday.
UALR has implemented nearly all of the recommendations from the internal audit, including limits on who can use procurement cards and the inclusion in university policy of disciplinary actions for employees who abuse a card.
The university had reached out to the Office of State Procurement to inquire about blocking merchants who use square readers from processing UALR transactions. Because there was not a way to do so, the university plans to review all purchases using square readers and verify the transactions.
Metro on 11/12/2016