The U.S. Marshal Service (USMS) wasted nearly $800,000 on silk scarves, Christmas ornaments, and other “swag,” according to an inspector general report released Tuesday.
The report analyzed spending on promotional items by the Investigative Operations Division (IOD), which conducts fugitive investigations for the Marshal Service.
“We found that the IOD spent at least $793,118 on promotional items during fiscal years 2005 to 2010 and that these expenditures were excessive and, in some instances, in contravention of Department Policies and Government Accountability Office (GAO) decisions and guidance,” the report said.
“Furthermore, IOD’s spending on promotional items increased by 975 percent during the 6-year period examined by the OIG and vastly outpaced the growth of the USMS’s appropriation during the same period,” the IG said.
“As an illustration of some of the IOD’s spending we found that in six years the IOD branches spent $155,081 on USMS challenge coins, $11,338 on neckties and silk scarves bearing the USMS seal, $13,605 on USMS-themed Christmas ornaments, $16,084 on USMS-themed blankets and throws, and $36,596 on USMS lapel pins.”
