School board audit reports that accidentally paid $2 million to scammers

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Audit results show that the Livingston Parish School Board was the victim of a $2 million scam last year.

The Louisiana Office of the Legislative Comptroller said the school board received emails requesting changes to payment details for electronic money transfers from two providers and made the changes without following the phone verification procedure.

According to the audit report, between January 12, 2022 and February 8, 2022, payments totaling $2,251,861 were made until the legitimate seller followed up on a payment. School board officials discovered the error and contacted law enforcement to investigate.

Auditors said $1,907,894 was recovered, however $343,967 could not be recovered and an insurance claim was filed.

The school board plans to expand its policies and procedures regarding supplier switching, the review said.

The alleged scammers have not been identified and an investigation is ongoing.

Click here for the full audit report.