Norfolk investigates worker for credit card use, absences

NORFOLK

The city auditor is investigating a former schools employee for thousands of dollars in questionable charges made on a city credit card and for failing to show up for work for long periods of time over more than six years.

Auditor John Sanderlin began an investigation late last year into Lynn Moore, who was the director of the Norfolk Interagency Consortium, after being told of anonymous allegations of irregularities, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.

The consortium is a private agency funded largely by the city, school system and state that attempts to provide social services to troubled teenagers.

City Manager Regina V.K. Williams, who initially told Sanderlin of the allegations, urged the school system to fire Moore, the sources said. The schools allowed Moore to resign after she acknowledged she made $400 in personal charges on her city credit card, the sources said. She reimbursed the city before she resigned.

Moore worked for Norfolk Public Schools for 13 years, according to School Board records. Sources said she agreed to forfeit vacation pay of more than $20,000 and thus did not have to repay any questionable charges uncovered by Sanderlin.

This is the third instance of the abuse of city credit cards to surface in less than a year. Commissioner of Revenue Sharon McDonald and Barbara Lai, an assistant to the city manager, also made improper charges. Lai has resigned. McDonald, an elected official, remains in office.

Williams suspended all 440 city credit cards in April after she learned of McDonald's credit card use.

The police, FBI and state officials are investigating a Norfolk Community Services Board employee who was paid for 12 years even though she did not show up for work. That agency, like the consortium, is not formally part of city government. Sanderlin confirmed on Wednesday that he has turned over evidence on Moore to the police but offered no details.

Several attempts to reach Moore were unsuccessful.

Williams acknowledged Moore worked for the consortium and that "there were some personnel issues... she is no longer with the school system," she said, declining further comment.

Moore worked for the schools from 1977 to 1990. Her last position was as a liaison school social worker, which paid about $35,226 a year.

She was reassigned to the city as a Norfolk youth network coordinator in 1990. In 1993, she became an administrator for the Norfolk Interagency Consortium. At that time, school leaders agreed to handle Moore's payroll. However, her salary did not come from the division's budget. She submitted her resignation in December 2009, school leaders said, effective Jan. 1, 2010.

Sources said Sanderlin has found more than $4,000 in charges on a city credit card that Moore can't document, including expenses for educational conferences she could not prove she attended. She also charged about $6,000 for mileage and gasoline that Sanderlin found were "unsubstantiated," the sources said.

It is also alleged that Moore would not show up for work at the consortium's headquarters for days at a time. Sanderlin's audit determined Moore did not claim any vacation time for the last six years she worked, sources said.

Most City Council members contacted Wednesday said they were unaware of the investigation.

When told that the police were investigating Moore, Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot wondered why police did not look into revenue commissioner McDonald's credit card use.

"I'm a little perplexed that we didn't take the same approach with the last person," Burfoot said. "If there's a process in place, everyone should go through it. I don't think we should pick and choose" who is investigated.

McDonald came under scrutiny this year when Sanderlin noticed unusually large charges during a random review of credit card statements. Sanderlin audited her expenses for five years and found $30,000 for which she had no receipts. She spent lavishly on dinners, gifts and hotel room stays while lobbying the General Assembly.

McDonald was forced to repay $3,100 in credit card charges, and all future travel must be approved by the city manager's office. Mayor Paul Fraim said she "broke the public trust."

In December, Lai purchased a $250 cell phone for a teen gang member in Ocean View, and he used the phone while committing a violent felony. Lai was forced to resign in September. She will work with the city as a contract employee through the end of November.

While not speaking directly to Moore's or McDonald's use of a credit card, City Manager Williams defended the use of "procurement" cards by constitutional officers and those with agencies affiliated but not directly part of city government.

She said using the cards was no different than taking a city-issued check to purchase goods and services. All transactions are supposed to be reviewed by department heads, and she said in some instances, that failed to catch problems.

"We're going to put additional layers of reviews into the system," she said. "We know that has to happen."

Pilot writer Steven Vegh and news researcher Jakon Hays contributed to this report.

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com