Employees of a Maryland university illegally shared a corporate purchasing card and racked up more than $800,000 in charges from January 2008 to January 2010, according to a state audit.
One of the four card-sharing employees admitted to using the card for personal purchases, according to a state-issued audit of Coppin State University. Maryland law prohibits card-sharing, and the employee in question has since been terminated.
The state’s independent Office of Legislative Audits blamed the Baltimore university’s lack of oversight for the breach. In a test of 33 corporate card purchases totaling $80,400 and across seven cards, the audit determined half the purchases had questionable documentation and approval.
The audit also found the university allows students not from Maryland to receive in-state tuition, which is $4,000 cheaper than out-of-state tuition, and the school has failed to collect $4.5 million in overdue fees from students.