JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An investigation into thousands of dollars' worth of missing gift cards purchased by staff of former Mayor Alvin Brown is now in the hands of the city's inspector general.
The cards were purchased for a city employee recognition program, but $27,000 worth of cards were never used and can't be found.
Mayor Lenny Curry sent an email to Inspector General Thomas Cline, requesting that Cline's office open an investigation into the missing cards. He also wants Cline to connect with the State Attorney's Office as appropriate and to keep the mayor's general counsel and staff in the loop on the investigation.
"We have been asked to look into the apparent disappearance of these gift cards that were purchased as part of an employee recognition program," Cline said "At this point in time I don't have enough information to know where that may lead.
"They have done some accounting and realized there are some cards missing and have asked us to look at where they may have gotten to."
A spokesman for Brown's staff members said the staff has no comment on the investigation.
Not much is known about the cards, who had control of them or how many were distributed. The city is checking with the bank to see if the cards have been activated and used.
"We are going to do a variety of things. We are going to look at the controls surrounding the programs, around the cards specifically. Who had access? Where were they stored?" Cline said. "The ones that are missing, were they handed out as part of recognition? Have they disappeared completely?"
Cline said his office does not have criminal law enforcement capabilities. If the city suspects criminal wrongdoing, it will call in the state attorney or others to investigate.
For now, the city's investigation continues, but no timetable has been set for its completion.