Audit finds Oklahoma may have to pay back nearly $200 million in federal funds the state spent "questionably"
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — State Auditor Cindy Byrd says Oklahoma may be on the hook to repay the federal government nearly $200 million after her office found state leaders allowed multiple state agencies to spend federal COVID relief dollars in “questionable” ways, often on hefty administrative salaries and personal expenses, rather than fully funding public assistance the money was meant for.
Byrd’s office released a 200-page audit on Wednesday, which found that state agencies failed to properly oversee how federal money was distributed.
“When Oklahoma takes money from the federal government, they are 100% responsible for making sure that those funds are spent properly, and they have very strict requirements for monitoring whoever they pass those funds on to,” Byrd said at a press conference on Wednesday. “The federal government will take that money back from the state of Oklahoma, and then it will be up to the state of Oklahoma to recoup those funds.”
Continued at: https://kfor.com/news/local/audit-finds-oklahoma-may-have-to-pay-back-nearly-200-million-in-federal-funds-the-state-spent-questionably/