Californias financial watchdog botched staff payments, let managers work from Idaho, Alabama

California’s financial watchdog failed to sniff out wasteful spending and abuses happening right under her nose — and her office even tried to burn more taxpayer money to cover their debts.The findings in a new State Auditor’s report expose waste, fraud and abuse across California government, including inside Controller Malia Cohen’s own office, which is responsible for safeguarding taxpayer money and auditing the agencies that spend it.The Controller‘s Office — responsible for protecting the state’s financial resources, auditing public spending and administering the state’s payroll system — was singled out for losing track of a manager working from Idaho for five years, as well as another manager who spent parts of multiple years working in Alabama and Tennessee.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story Meanwhile, Cohen’s senior officials “purposefully” stalled the recovery of more than $33,000 in employee overpayments and tried to get the state to pay “damages” to cover up the losses.State Auditor Grant Parks called the idea “poorly conceived” in his report and concluded the failures inside Cohen’s office “risked providing [State Controller’s Office] employees with a gift of public funds.” Cohen did not respond to the California Post’s request for comment. The Controller’s Office disputed the finding that it violated state law, arguing it had initiated collection within three years.The auditor rejected that argument, finding officials canceled required payroll deductions without reasonable justification.Herb Morgan, a candidate for state controller in November’s election, slammed Cohen’s oversight and called the overpayments more than “a paperwork error.”“While Sacramento tells Californians to live here, work he...