2025-001-Activities Allowed or Unallowed and Allowable Costs/Cost Principles - Beneficiary Payments Federal Agencies: U.S. Department of State/ Bureau of Population and Refugees and Migration Program Titles and ALN Numbers: 1. ALN #19.510: U.S. Refugee Admissions Program Federal Grant Numbers: 1. SP...
2025-001-Activities Allowed or Unallowed and Allowable Costs/Cost Principles - Beneficiary Payments Federal Agencies: U.S. Department of State/ Bureau of Population and Refugees and Migration Program Titles and ALN Numbers: 1. ALN #19.510: U.S. Refugee Admissions Program Federal Grant Numbers: 1. SPRMCO23CA0361- FY24 MRA Capacity Development Funds 2. SPRMCO24CA0356- FY2023-25 Year 3 Reception and Placement Program - Affiliate MRA DA+Admin 3. SPRMCO24CA0357- FY2023-25 Year 3 Reception and Placement Program - Affiliate ERMA DA+Admin Contact Person: Rick Estridge, Controller, rick.estridge@rescue.org, (443)890-0915 Corrective Action: IRC’s management has taken several steps to stop fraudulent activities, prevent new fraud and improve IRC’s ability to detect future fraud. a. Upon identifying potentially unauthorized and fraudulent fund requests, all program office access to the USIO bank portal was immediately suspended. USIO debit card loads were centralized, and this process remains in place. b. Nine staff potentially involved in those activities were placed on leave during the investigation; five were eventually terminated. Following investigations, the IRC has made significant changes in leadership in structure in Northern California. By the end of June 2026, new Finance, Operations, and Program Delivery leadership will be in place, and the office will be broken down into two smaller offices, each with its own Executive Director. c. Working visits and in-person training on fraud prevention have been and will continue to be delivered to reinforce IRC’s compliance standards in all offices engaged in direct client payments. Additionally, network wide training are being provided focused on on compliance, CFR and fraud prevention for all staff. New policies on pre-paid cards and gift cards have also been issued. d. A Financial Analyst position was created under the RAI Head of Finance to focus on compliance. The analyst performs quarterly sample-based spot checks across all U.S. network offices, randomly selecting transactions for end-to-end review, including USIO payments. An automated tool also flags potential non-compliance issues such as irregular p-card payments and gift card purchases – vulnerabilities that could be exploited in NorCal-like situations. The RAI Head of Finance then compiles quarterly compliance reports for office leadership, highlighting areas for improvement. Anticipated Completion Date: June 30, 2026