State Audit finds careless record keeping could cost Missouri taxpayers millions (US)

Could careless record keeping cost Missouri taxpayers millions of dollars? It’s a possibility as the feds try to recoup millions in questionable welfare payouts.

Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich latest Single State Audit reveals some startling numbers. “Right now we’re questioning $56 million” said Schweich. His office examined TANF, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, federal dollars that are distributed to low income Missourians.

Schweich told News 4 “What we found is the state government was not able to demonstrate eligibility in 22% of the cases ….people getting benefits couldn’t prove they were eligible.”

Schweich says the payouts require recipients to prove they are looking for work or enrolled in job training and that leads to another problem. “In 42% of the cases there was no demonstration they were meeting the work-seeking requirements of the law” said Schweich. Those numbers concern him. They don’t prove fraud but at the very least reveal a problem with the way case files are kept.

Read more: KMOV.com, March 27, 2013