703.791.8999

Download Form for Reporting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

The Office of Internal Audit maintains the fraud, waste, and abuse hotline for use by employees and others to report allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse. Our School Division, like any other school division, is subject to the possibility of irregularities in the handling of money, documents, resources, and equipment. Prince William County Public Schools is committed to the highest standards of business conduct. The public can hold a high degree of confidence that we will meet the challenge of identifying and eliminating fraud, waste, or abuse. All calls to the hotline are confidential. You will not be asked your identity. Each call will be seriously considered and pursued. Violations include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Theft or Misuse of School Funds or Property - Negligence in the care and handling of school property, unauthorized or inappropriate use of school property or equipment, intentional abuse or destruction of school property, theft of school property, or of another employee's property;
  
  
• Neglect of duty - Noncompliance with applicable rules, laws, and regulations;
  
  
• Serious Abuse of Time - Unauthorized time away from work, falsification of work hours reported, or excessive use of school time for personal business; and
  
  
• Falsification of Information - Falsification of personnel records, time records, or any other school and employee record or report.           

If you are uncertain how to proceed with a concern, you may contact the Office of Internal Audit during normal business hours at 703.791.8991 for guidance prior to calling the Hotline or completing the Fraud, Waste, and Abuse form.

• In person - The Office of Internal Audit is located on the third floor of the Kelly Leadership Center located at 14715 Bristow Road, Manassas, Virginia 20108. Regular hours are from  8 a.m. – 5 p.m.;

• By phone - 703.791.8991 Chief Internal Auditor’s line. The Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline at 703.791.8999 may be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Callers may remain anonymous if calling from an outside line or dialing the full phone number internally. Caller ID and call back features have been disabled to maintain confidentiality.  Please note – do not use the 4 digit extension when calling from an internal number if you want the call to be anonymous as the system does not allow for internal blocked numbers;

• By email - fraud@pwcs.edu. Email is not anonymous;

• By Mail - Complete and print the reporting form and address to: Office of Internal Audit, Prince William County Public Schools, P.O. Box 389, Manassas, VA 20108;

In all cases, please provide as much factual detail as possible concerning your allegations – what happened, when and where it occurred, who was involved, how did it happen, and how much was involved.
No retaliatory or adverse personnel action may be taken against any employee who reports fraud, waste, or abuse (Regulation 351-1, Reporting, Investigating and Prosecuting Fraud, Embezzlement and Other Irregularities). You may not knowingly make a false report or allegation.

What are fraud, waste, and abuse?
The Code of Virginia defines abuse, fraud, and waste as:

• “Abuse” means the excessive or improper use of something, or the employment of something in a manner contrary to the natural or legal rules for its use; the intentional destruction, diversion, manipulation, misapplication, maltreatment, or misuse of resources owned or operated by the locality; or extravagant or excessive use so as to abuse one’s position or authority;
  
  
• “Fraud” means the intentional deception perpetrated by an individual or individuals, or an organization or organizations, either internal or external to Prince William County Public Schools that could result in a tangible or intangible benefit to themselves, others, or the locality or could cause detriment to others or the locality. Fraud includes a false representation of a matter of fact, whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading statements, or by concealment of that which should have been disclosed, which deceives and is intended to deceive; and
  
  
• “Waste” means the intentional or unintentional, thoughtless or careless expenditure, consumption, mismanagement, use, or squandering of resources owned or operated by the locality to the detriment or potential detriment of the locality. Waste also includes incurring unnecessary costs because of inefficient or ineffective practices, systems, or controls.