A city contractor was flagged for $1 million in inappropriate spending earlier this week by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The comptroller’s office issued a report on their findings and a statement on March 3 that Samaritan Village, Inc. got paid almost $1 million in “inappropriate and questionable expenses.” The expenditures were made over a one-year period and were found during a comptroller’s office audit.
The largest single discrepancy was $400,000 given to clients for day trips and transportation.
Samaritan Village contracts with the city’s Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services for alcohol and substance abuse prevention and treatment. They were also a major provider of case workers for the city’s Hotel Program, which housed thousands of Superstorm Sandy evacuees.
The comptroller has told the organization to pay back $661,793 of the “inappropriate, unallowable or undocumented” revenues and expenses.