The city of Fresno, The golden state, lost about$ 400,000 to a net scammer in 2020 and afterwards covered it up, even mosting likely to the degree of refuting a public document request related to the incident, according to records.
The news originates from The Fresno , which information the slovenly saga of an unreliable federal government at its worst.
According to the paper, city authorities got scammed by a fake invoice that appeared to find from a city contractor with a request for payment for services that were never carried out.
The invoice looked so official, The claimed, that a city staff authorized the payment prior to anyone understood that the invoice was a fraud.
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“It is my understanding that it’s the single largest loss for the city, when it comes to a fraud,” Councilmember Miguel Arias told The .
“In an interview Wednesday, existing Mayor Jerry Dyer said 2 payments were made. Arias stated city authorities believe the cash was sent out to an account in Africa,” The Bee originally reported.
The city called the FBI, however just about $2,000 was recouped. The FBI additionally claimed they really felt the fraudster was actually an American, not a fraudster in Africa.
Before all this came to be public, however, The Bee tried to get the information with a public document request that the city declined. The Bee filed its request on Dec. 13 of in 2015, requesting communication regarding wire fraud.
Initially, the city claimed it required an extension to meet the demand, however later sent the paper a note saying, “The City of Fresno has examined its documents as well as did not find documents receptive to your request.”
According to The Fresno report,” [City Attorney Doug] Sloan described that the city lawyer’s office searched for the words ‘cord fraud.’ Given that those words didn’t show up in the e-mails … the city attorney’s office told The Bee there were no responsive documents.”
However, the paper later on discovered lots of documents describing the theft.
Councilmember Arias was stunned at the city’s refusal to accede to the record demand.
“I can’t speak with why the administrative personnel wouldn’t release something …