The FBI has been called in to investigate a reported embezzlement from the Tulsa Fair Grounds. Officials with Expo Square are not saying how much money is missing, but it has apparently been going on since December of 2015.
Fairgrounds CEO Mark Andrus issued the following statement:
“We have uncovered a potential embezzlement and missing funds, which occurred over the past several years. This is an injustice to those connected to our facility. We are focused on accounting for and recovering all funds. To ensure this does not happen again, we have focused on improving the cash handling processes.”
The Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority has a time line.
o In December 2017, management began questioning accounting processes and procedures.
o To address these concerns ,a CPA/consultant was hired February9,2018.
o For the remainder of 2018, the consultant began evaluating the accounting staff, their procedures and implementing corrective action to improve any discovered deficiencies.
o This consultant has focused on implementing best practices in all areas related to accounting, including all transactions and deposits into TCPFA accounts.
o On March 14, 2019, the consultant was reviewing the bank reconciliation and noticed there were several deposits that had not cleared. Upon discovery, she requested a more detailed review of this account.
o In this review, it was determined there was a deposit missing from September 2018, which was confirmed on Monday, March 25, 2019.
o Last Monday’s findings initiated an even further detailed review, which has uncovered a significant amount of missing funds, dating from December 2015 to September 4, 2018.
o The Tulsa Police Department was immediately notified of the discovery, and our team has been working diligently with law enforcement to investigate. The investigation is on going, therefore an exact amount is not available at this time. We know this detail is important, and as soon as it is possible to release the amount it will be provided.