'Significant Discipline' Expected From Sheriff's Timesheet Fraud Probe
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Cook County Sheriff's office said "significant discipline" is expected in the next week or so, when it wraps up the first part of a lengthy investigation into allegations of timesheet fraud by deputies and supervisors.
When the investigation started several months ago, it focused on about 60 people – deputies and supervisors – who might have claimed to work hours they were not actually on the job, according to sheriff's chief policy officer Cara Smith.
"It's a very significant investigation involving many, many people and levels of employees in our courts division. So we expect it to be bringing that to conclusion in the next week or so, and we also expect there to be some significant discipline that will result," she said Thursday.
Smith said the employees being investigated include deputies and supervisors at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building at 26th and California.
"The allegations are that they were not working for periods of time that they indicated they were working. So it's a time and attendance fraud case involving many people," she said.
The first round of disciplinary action will focus on the supervisors.
"We expect the first round of discipline to be focused on our supervisory staff, who we rely on to ensure there's compliance with the rules – that people are doing the work they're assigned to do and that the taxpayers are paying them to do," Smith said.
