Louisiana Legislative Auditor
Daryl G. Purpera, CPA, CFE

April 4, 2016

Nearly $800,000 in Seized Cash Assets Missing from District Attorney's Forfeiture Account

An investigative audit has found that $794,166 in seized cash assets sent to the District Attorney’s Office for the 9th Judicial District was never deposited into the office’s bank accounts, the Legislative Auditor said in a report released today.

The 9th Judicial District encompasses Rapides Parish.

The assets were seized by local law enforcement agencies between January 2009 and October 2015. A former bookkeeper for the District Attorney’s Office was primarily responsible for receiving, recording, and depositing seized cash assets and disbursing the money as instructed by the court.

The missing funds came to light in October 2015, when an assistant district attorney responsible for asset forfeitures reviewed the office’s forfeiture bank account after hearing the balance was less than he expected. The district attorney placed the bookkeeper on administrative leave; she announced her intention to retire from the office the following day.

In addition to the $794,166 in seized assets not deposited, auditors found $267,640 in funds from other sources had been deposited improperly into the asset forfeiture account and the District Attorney’s Office had failed to disburse $281,015 in asset forfeitures as ordered by the court, the state auditor said.

In response, the district attorney said his office has hired additional personnel to manage all the financial legal processes and employees involved and has implemented all of the audit report’s recommendations.

For more information contact:

Legislative Auditor
225.339.3800



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Office of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor | www.LLA.La.gov