Patton State Hospital: Payroll Fraud Case

A criminal case was brought against four former employees of Patton State Hospital, for the several felonies which included the theft of unearned payroll for approximately $800,000. All the defendants are stated to have received pay for hours they did not work. These thefts were alleged to have happened between August 2007 and March 2011. ("Former Patton State Hospital employees charged in $800,000 payroll fraud case," n.d.) After criminal charges were filed, the State’s Controller’s office released an audit that uncovered inappropriate payroll methods resulting in over $900,000 in payroll theft between July 2010 and July 2013. ("Former Patton State Hospital employees charged in $800,000 payroll fraud case," n.d.) The Paton State Hospital administration is debating the accuracy of the audit, do to questionable calculations. Additionally, the Patton Administration stated that the fraud incidents had previously been reported to the State Department of Finance. ("Former Patton State Hospital employees charged in $800,000 payroll fraud case," n.d.)

There are several key issues posed by this case. First, the varied dates noting the amounts of fraud. Could it be possible that the theft was larger than noted? If the State’s Comptroller’s office
Due to the extent of the fraud, they will need to figure out a way to prevent this from happening in the future. First, they will need to review the current procedures to affirm where changes need to be made. The state will need then need to implement the new procedures. This may be in the form of training for the administration and staff, or the possibility of new equipment, which would automate the process. An electronic payroll processing system would be the most beneficial as well as easily accountable. Although cost will be associated these changes, the tradeoff will be a less likely occurrence of