Former city employee allegedly stole, tried to sell city property - Austin Monitor

Investigators from the Austin Office of the City Auditor person released a report that shows a erstwhile worker of the Communications and Technology Management section “stole and attempted to merchantability a city-owned mobile instrumentality successful December 2021.” That employee, Brian Cox, a erstwhile IT enactment analyst, resigned from the metropolis successful April 2022, frankincense avoiding being fired.

According to the report, which was released past week, CTM unit discovered the theft aft Cox attempted to merchantability the instrumentality for $1,000 successful an online marketplace posting. The station included a representation of what appeared to beryllium the city-owned mobile device. Employees of CTM notified the Austin Police Department, which retrieved the instrumentality from Cox.

Cox archetypal told constabulary helium did not person it earlier yet turning the instrumentality implicit to APD.

The instrumentality was described successful the study arsenic “a handheld mobile instrumentality intended for nationalist information staff. This instrumentality was 1 of 29 sent by the shaper to CTM’s wireless store for tract investigating by staff, including Cox.” Although the metropolis tested the devices, it did not yet acquisition any. According to the report, the devices were provided without outgo and the shaper evidently did not expect them to beryllium returned.

When the audit squad talked to Cox, helium told them “he recovered the instrumentality successful 1 of his aged enactment bags. Cox said helium decided to station the instrumentality for merchantability online alternatively than instrumentality it, due to the fact that helium didn’t privation to woody with the ‘headache’ of returning it. Cox confirmed that helium did not person support to merchantability the device. He besides admitted to trying to merchantability the instrumentality for $1,000 but denied attempting to merchantability immoderate different items from the wireless shop.”

When fixed the accidental to respond to the allegations, Cox did not contradict taking the instrumentality and apologized for “giving the COA CTM wireless section a crushed for this investigation.”

In the people of the investigation, investigators looked astatine CTM’s inventory records, which initially appeared to amusement astir $29,000 of missing inventory. However, aft unit did much searching, the worth of the missing inventory was reduced to astir $11,000. Investigators wrote, “We could not find whether immoderate of the missing inventory was stolen, misplaced, oregon successful usage but not decently accounted for. Separately, the wireless store said it could not relationship for 2 of the aforesaid mobile devices that Cox attempted to sell.”

While conducting the probe of the wireless store inventory, auditors recovered “several examples of mediocre controls and procedures related to inventory management. Specifically, the wireless store was not tracking demo products, similar the instrumentality Cox attempted to sell, successful the aforesaid mode arsenic usually purchased inventory.” Auditors besides recovered what they called “poor segregation of duties wrong the wireless shop. All wireless store unit tin person shipments, arsenic good arsenic participate and region inventory from the shop’s inventory absorption software. Further, erstwhile items are removed from inventory, determination are nary records of the items being disposed of properly. These conditions could summation the hazard of theft.”

The audit squad concluded that the wireless store had addressed respective of the issues noted successful the report. CTM present tracks demo products successful the aforesaid mode it tracks purchased instrumentality and the section has improved however it tracks inventory.

Michael Yamma served arsenic elder audit investigator.

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