Audit Finds Questionable Spending, Lax Oversight At Maryland Tax Agency

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A state audit released this month found that a former employee at the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (DAT) made tens of thousands of dollars in questionable purchases using a state-issued corporate purchasing card, including payments for vacation rental properties, while agency supervisors failed to identify or properly investigate the spending.

According to a Special Review released Oct. 6, 2025, by the Office of Legislative Audits, the investigation stemmed from a fraud hotline complaint alleging misuse of state funds. Auditors determined that between May 2019 and August 2024, a DAT employee processed at least 230 questionable or unsupported payments totaling about $41,400, along with additional charges that appeared unrelated to agency business.

Among the purchases was roughly $6,800 spent on two Ocean City vacation rentals tied to two management employees. The rentals were booked for a full week, even though the work conference being attended lasted only three days, according to the report. DAT was unable to justify the extra nights or determine whether the costs exceeded normal lodging rates.

Auditors also found that DAT supervisors approved 23 months of the employee’s expense logs despite missing, illegible, or incomplete documentation — including one month where 16 of 33 transactions lacked proper support. The agency failed to refer the matter to the Office of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division as required by state policy and did not attempt to recover the funds.

The Office of Legislative Audits said it referred aspects of the case to the Attorney General’s Criminal Division for further review, emphasizing that such a referral “does not mean that a criminal act has actually occurred or that criminal charges will be filed.”

In its formal response, DAT Director Bob Yeager said the department “has referred this matter to the Attorney General’s Criminal Division” and is taking corrective action to tighten financial controls. The agency agreed with all audit findings and pledged to retrain staff, document all purchasing card reviews, and use transaction-level data to verify expenses.

Yeager said the department has already updated personnel records to ensure the terminated employee’s status accurately reflects the circumstances and that future cases of misconduct will be properly documented and reported.

The audit recommended that DAT strengthen its procedures to ensure complete purchase logs, enforce independent supervisory reviews, and use available financial data to flag questionable activity before approval.

DAT, which manages property tax assessments and corporate filings statewide, processed roughly 7,650 corporate card transactions totaling $2.3 million between July 2021 and June 2025, according to the audit.

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