Today, the State of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against an education funds vendor for its role in the misuse of taxpayer dollars during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
“The pandemic was a difficult and unprecedented time for all Oklahoma families, and it was our goal to do all we could to swiftly ease some of the burdens lower income families faced as they struggled to keep their kids in school or otherwise to do school from home,” said Governor Stitt. “A vendor, which said it would eliminate the possibility of fraudulent use of grant funds, didn’t uphold its end of the contract and taxpayer dollars were misused. We have to hold this vendor responsible and protect Oklahoma taxpayers from being left holding the bill.”
The State’s lawsuit asserts, in part, the vendor knowingly disbursed funds to families without ensuring proper protocols were in place to ensure those funds were spent correctly and then failed to maintain records to support its work.
As the U.S. Department of Education seeks to recoup from states any funds allegedly misspent, Oklahoma has an obligation to protect taxpayers and low income families from bearing the brunt of any company’s malfeasance.
The filing can be found here.
