Former Austin employee accused of buying $3K in gift cards, gun accessories on city card

The employee, who resigned in May, managed daily operations and made and approved staff purchase for the forensics science department.

Austin American-Statesman
Ella McCarthy, Austin American-Statesman
December 4, 2023

The city of Austin auditor's office is accusing a former forensic services manager of fraud — claiming Efrain Perez used a city-issued credit card to buy around $3,000 in gift cards and firearm accessories and wrote it off as purchases for the department.

Perez, who managed the daily operations and made and approved staff purchase for the forensics science department, made the purchases in late 2022 and falsified receipts to make it look like items were purchased for city operations, according to an 11-page audit published on Monday.

Dr. Dana Kadavy, director of the forensic science department, said the department was made aware of the discrepancies in February and worked with the financial services department to review the transactions. In March, the department began responding to inquiries from city auditor's office.

"Both the Travis County District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Forensic Science Commission were made aware that this investigation was underway," Dr. Dana Kadavy, director of the forensic science department, said in a statement. "This matter has now been referred to the Austin Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit to assess any possible criminal charges that may be relevant to this matter.”

Perez resigned in May, according to the audit. The Statesman could not immediately reach Perez for a comment.

The alleged purchases

Perez is accused of purchased 15 Visa gift cards worth about $1,500 total, and spent $1,550 on firearm accessories.

Receipts cited in the audit indicate Perez shipped items to his home and a "nearby storage locker," and changed the shipping address to the forensics science office address.

He denied the purchase of gift cards in an interview with the auditors department before his resignation, the audit states.

"He (Perez) claimed that he had bought supplies and books for the department, either at the request of the staff or for the department’s general use," the audit states. "However, when we asked Forensic Science staff about these purchases, they denied requesting these items during November and December 2022."

In the city's financial system, Perez claimed he purchased the firearm accessories for the forensic science department. This was disputed by a supervisor who stated the items purchased would not have been used by the department, according to the audit.

The findings of the audit state that in falsifying receipts and using city funds for personal use, Perez violated three city codes.

"Perez had an assigned procurement card, but it was taken away by Financial Services after discovery of the gift card purchases," the audit states.

Kadavy said the forensic science department was notified by the financial services department on March 1 that Perez’s Card and account were deactivated and cancelled.

Attached to the audit is a memo from Kadavy which states the Forensic Science Department and Austin Police Department Financial Services reviewed the audit and did not dispute any of its findings.

No departmental policies regarding the issuance of credit cards were changed following the investigation, Kadavy said.

In a statement, Kadavy said she is "reassured that we have the correct policies and procedures in place that led to the misuse being detected."