The Georgia Attorney General’s office has directed the Board of Regents to investigate allegations of travel abuse by the former executive director of alumni relations at the University of Georgia.
Records show Deborah Dietzler used state money for personal trips and skipped work without taking leave time, but the school buried the findings of an internal investigation drafted by the school auditor.
“I believe this matter warrants further inquiry,” Senior Assistant Attorney General David McLaughlin wrote the regents in a letter obtained by Channel 2 Action News.
Channel 2, which first reported the findings of the internal investigation against Dietzler, reported Wednesday that a state audit team was on the UGA campus Tuesday.
“The findings, which include misrepresentations on travel reimbursement documents, are of a nature that is generally reported to my office,” wrote McLaughlin, “I am concerned that the OIAC [Office of Internal Audit and Compliance] and this office never received the report.”
The internal investigation was conducted by UGA auditors after a complaint from Sallyanne Barrow, who worked under Dietzler in the alumni office.
Barrow and another staffer realized Dietzler was booking marathons, with hotels and airfare around the country, then trying to find a way to bill taxpayers.
“We simply had to find people for her to meet with, anyone to justify the reason that she’s staying in these cities for so many days,” said Scott Kinney, who worked as Dietzler’s assistant.
At the Big Sur marathon in California in 2013, Kinney says Dietzler didn’t end up meeting with anyone, but billed UGA anyway.
“There’s a state allowance for per diems. Often times I had to fabricate this information, just to justify it,” said Kinney.
UGA’s internal report noted a misrepresentation of facts on Dietzler’s travel documents, an abuse of her authority and even cited possible criminal penalties.
It also found that Dietzler rarely took leave time when she was absent from work.
The UGA Fraud Committee recommended Dietzler’s contract not be renewed, but her boss let her resign instead and then reassigned her to a different job with the same six-figure salary.
“The fact that the attorney general’s office is taking this so seriously, shows that it needs a strong thorough investigation,” said William Perry, president of Georgia Ethics Watchdogs.
Perry is also a UGA grad who served on the alumni board and considers Dietzler a friend.
“I’ve known these folks for a long time so it really hurts if these allegations are true,” said Perry.
McLaughlin directed the Board of Regents Chief Auditor to report back to him whether criminal investigation is warranted.
Dietzler is now an associate vice president at the University of Louisville, but was placed on leave while the school investigates her travel and leave time there, as well as what happened at UGA.
Dietzler’s attorney issued a statement saying she was never shown the investigative report or given a chance to challenge it. He said she welcomes a thorough review of all of the facts.
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