Following an audit of the California Lottery, the State Controller's Office is accusing the agency of questionable spending of more than $300,000.
The Controller’s Office says more than $130,000 of the spending came from travel expenses where employees received reimbursement of meals, per diem, and lodging when staff members lived as close as six miles from and event site.
Lottery officials are also accused of spending more than $20,000 to provide agency staff with logo branded “SWAG” such as t-shirts backpacks and iPads under the guise of buying “learning aids and training tools.”
According to the Controller's Office, the spending occurred between July 2014 and June 2018.
The California Lottery said that they have carefully reviewed the audit and generally agree with the findings stating,
“Lottery Sales Division management could have done a better job tracking and documenting expenses and minimizing administrative errors.”
The Controller's Office is asking that the Lottery respond with a detailed corrective action plan within the next six months,
