Credit Card | The Contracting Education Academy

September 12, 2017 By AMK

GSA awards contract for $700 billion federal charge card program

The General Services Administration (GSA) last Tuesday (Sept. 5, 2017) announced that it has awarded two American banks with major contracts to manage the government’s next-generation charge card system.

GSA said that Citibank, N.A., and U.S. Bank would handle the implementation of SmartPay 3, the newest iteration of the federal charge card program. The contracts will facilitate a potential $700 billion in charge card expenditures and related payment transactions if the government exercises all of its extension options.

The GSA’s SmartPay program provides federal employees with chip-enabled charge cards, online accounts and other services that allow them to expense purchases, travel and fleet costs to their agencies. SmartPay 3 will replace the GSA’s current charge card program, SmartPay 2, when it expires on Nov. 29, 2018. The new contract runs through November 2021 with the option to extend for an additional 10 years. Agencies can now begin issuing task orders to contractors under SmartPay 3.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/technology/2017/09/gsa-awards-700b-contract-federal-charge-card-program/140750

March 31, 2016 By AMK

Former NIH employee gets 21 months in prison for unauthorized use of GPC

Francesca M. Daniele was sentenced to 21 months in prison plus three years of supervised release for wire fraud in connection with the misuse of her government purchase card (GPC). She also was ordered on March 25, 2016 to forfeit and pay restitution of $22,338.67, the amount of loss resulting from her conduct.

In July 2014, Daniele worked at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), purchasing equipment from vendors and administering contracts on behalf of NIH. According to her plea agreement, during the period of July 12 to 28, 2014, Daniele used her government-issued credit card to fraudulently make approximately $21,830.19 of personal purchases at retail stores. She used her cell phone to call the credit card’s customer service center to approve those purchases. In an attempt to conceal the scheme, Daniele falsely reported that her credit card had been lost.

Additionally, on October 15, 2014, Daniele opened a credit card account in the name of her minor child. She used the credit card to buy a laptop computer, video game console, a ring and other items, all of which were shipped to a hotel room she rented under an assumed name. Daniele did not pay for several of the items, resulting in a loss to the credit card company of approximately $508.48.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/former-nih-employee-sentenced-prison-using-her-government-credit-card-unauthorized

June 25, 2015 By AMK

No more charging strippers to Uncle Sam’s plastic

Federal employees who want to gamble or frequent strip clubs for an evening of fun will have to use their own credit cards to pay for it.

An amendment included in the House-passed fiscal 2016 Defense spending bill prohibits Defense civilian workers and military personnel from using government charge cards for expenses related to “gaming, or for entertainment that includes topless or nude entertainers or participants.”

The language specifically prohibits gaming, rather than any expenses at a casino, so lodging and meals, for example, would be exempt.

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., sponsored the amendment, which was adopted on voice vote. The House on Thursday passed the fiscal 2016 Defense spending bill. The full Senate has not yet considered its fiscal 2016 Defense appropriations legislation.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2015/06/no-more-charging-strippers-uncle-sams-plastic/115174

August 16, 2013 By AMK

DOT employees made $58 million in improper purchase card charges, IG says

Nearly a quarter of all Transportation Department employee purchase card transactions in fiscal 2010 and 2011 did not comply with DOT rules for employee spending, a departmental Inspector General report says.

During those years, DOT employees spent $277 million in 450,000 transactions on their purchase cards, the report says. About $58 million of that did not comply with DOT employee spending controls, the report says.

Purchase cards are routinely used to supplies and services, the report says.

DOT auditors based the results on a sample of 413 purchases in which 84, totaling $254,000, did not comply with DOT rules.

Offenses ranged from not receiving approval prior to card use, receiving approval for purchases from officials that were not authorized to approve the purchases and not verifying fund availability prior to purchases.

In the sample, about $93,000 in improper charges were made due to not getting preapproval for a purchase. About $65,000 came from the wrong person approving the purchase. And $47,000 came from purchases made without checking if the funds were available, the report says.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/dot-employees-made-58-million-improper-purchase-card-charges-ig-says/2013-07-31

October 31, 2012 By AMK

Fed gets jail time for personal purchases on a government credit card

A Health and Human Services Department employee was sentenced by a federal judge this week to six months in prison for using government charge cards to buy more than $114,000 worth of personal items, according to a Justice Department release.

Justice said Jihan S. Cover, a purchasing agent with the National Institute of Health and the National Cancer Institute from 2006 through 2011, used her government charge card to make hundreds of personal purchases totaling $114,494. She spent $16,000 on Amazon and $29,000 in payments to a variety of payday loan vendors, Justice said. She also made $47,000 in payments to personal accounts created on PayPal, the department said.

“In addition, Cover admitted that she further sought to conceal her actions by submitting various dispute forms to the bank servicing her purchase cards, claiming that she did not recognize certain charges or did not authorize them, when, in fact, she knowingly made or caused to be made the personal charges,” Justice’s statement said.

U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger from the Western District of North Carolina issued the sentence Tuesday. Along with Cover’s six-month imprisonment, the Justice Department said she also will have to serve three years of supervised release, including six months of home confinement. In addition, Cover will have to make restitution to Health and Human Services.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2012/10/fed-gets-jail-time-personal-purchases-government-credit-card/59033/?oref=workforce_week_nl

The General Services Administration (GSA) last Tuesday (Sept. 5, 2017) announced that it has awarded two American banks with major contracts to manage the government’s next-generation charge card system.

Federal employees who want to gamble or frequent strip clubs for an evening of fun will have to use their own credit cards to pay for it.

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