Thursday, August 20, 2009
Richard Denamen used Mapquest to calculate mileage of the employee’s routes.
staff report
BOARDMAN — Police are investigating a report from the superintendent of the Mahoning County Educational Service Center of an employee suspected of fraudulently reporting mileage for reimbursement.
Rich Denamen filed the report Tuesday with township police. The report says that an employee who visits families drives a personal vehicle and reports mileage for reimbursement.
The employee is then reimbursed at about 54 cents per mile for work-related mileage.
While reviewing the employee’s mileage reports, Denamen noted that the employee’s mileage was higher than other employees’. He then began reviewing all of that particular employee’s reports.
For June 2008, the employee claimed 886 miles for the month, the police report said. Denamen used Mapquest to map out the employee’s routes and calculated about 350 miles.
The employee has denied false information on reports when asked by service center personnel, the report said.
No charges have been filed.
The center figures it has reimbursed the employee for at least $500 more than she should have been reimbursed, according to the report. The superintendent told police he believes the amount may exceed $2,000 for the past two years.
The money reimbursed for employee mileage comes from public educational grant money provided by Mahoning County and the federal government, the police report said.