A new report released by the Veterans Affairs inspector general identifies collusion between a top-level official and contractor executives who were involved in committing procurement fraud, abuse, and whistleblower retaliation, reported Federal News Radio on Monday.
The 82-page report released Sept. 26 found Susan Taylor, the deputy chief procurement officer in the Veterans Health Administration's Procurement and Logistics Office, allegedly used her position to promote and award a contract to FedBid, a reverse auction vendor. Taylor also lied under oath and encouraged her staff to use FedBid services, claiming it was free even though it wasn't.
The report also accused Taylor of "improperly disclosed non-public VA information to unauthorized persons, misused her position and VA resources for private gain, and engaged in a prohibited personnel practice when she recommended that a subordinate senior executive service (SES) employee be removed from SES during her probation period."
After Jan Frye, VA deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Acquisition and Logistics, twice suspended the use of reverse auctions, FedBid began a concerted effort to, in their own words, "storm the castle"; "rally the troops up on the hill"; and "assassinate Mr. Frye's character and discredit him."
Through various contacts, FedBid was able to have pressure exerted on Frye to persuade him to lift his moratorium on reverse auction contracts.
The investigation began about 18 months ago, after a tip-off from a group of vendors informed the VA of the relationship between Taylor and FedBid.
When Taylor received assignments from her supervisors, she even worked closely with FedBid executives to craft responses, even working with FedBid to craft a response to her superior when questioned why the VA was involved with FedBig in the first place.
The investigation was forwarded to the Justice Department for criminal investigation, according to the IG, but the DoJ deferred it to the VA, asking them to take administrative action. VA officials said a decision will be made in 90 days regarding what administrative actions should be taken against Taylor. As of Sept. 29, Taylor remains employed by the VA, Federal News Radio reported.
"The Department of Veterans Affairs takes any allegations about patient care or employee misconduct very seriously and appreciates the work completed by the Inspector General (IG)," a department spokesperson told Federal News Radio by email. "VA will review the evidence collected by the IG to determine whether that evidence is sufficient to support accountability action against the employee. If the evidence is sufficient, accountability action will be proposed. If the evidence is insufficient, VA's Office of Accountability Review (OAR) will immediately commence its own administrative investigation."
