The Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency found that two Trump appointees to the agency arranged for two people fired from the EPA to receive tens of thousands of dollars in salary after they left their jobs, Politico reports.
The payments were arranged by former chief of staff Ryan Jackson and former White House liaison Charles Munoz, two political appointees in the agency, for two other, unnamed former employees of the agency. Additionally, the OIG report find that Munoz received more than $95,000 improperly, due to an illegitimate raise and “fraudulent timesheets” submitted.
In the case of the first employee, the person was fired from their job in 2017, but Munoz arranged for the person to continue to receive their biweekly salary, reportedly at the direction of Jackson, leading to an unwarranted $14,181.38 in payments. Munoz told he department’s human resources management division that the person had not been fired and was instead on “extended telework.” Jackson claimed that he arranged for the plan because he felt the employee’s termination had been unfair. The federal government does not provide severance pay to any employee.
The second person was instructed to resign or be fired. When they refused to resign, the person was escorted out of the building by an armed guard. Jackson arranged for the person to stay on the payroll, he said, because he wanted to avoid a “break in service” while the person sought another federal position. That person got $23,731.85 in additional pay.
The report was released by the OIG in March, but just became public. Jackson left the EPA in February 2020 to be vice president for government and political affairs at the National Mining Association, and Munoz left the federal government when the Biden administration took office.
The OIG report also notes that Jackson created a position for Munoz as EPA’s Pacific southwest region, headquartered in San Francisco, but allowed Munoz to stay in his hometown of Las Vegas, where Munoz was also leading the Trump campaign for Nevada. Jackson also gave Munoz a four-step pay scale increase, something not allowed by department policy, that netted Munoz $40,575.11 through November 2020.
The Inspector General also noted Munoz filed false timesheets in 14 of 15 pay periods. Munoz was frequently missing from the EPA’s Las Vegas office, where he was assigned, and he reported as working when he had personal appointments, such as at the local DMV or for a home furniture delivery.
With both men gone from the agency and federal prosecutors declining to press charges, the OIG report was “provided to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan for any action deemed appropriate.” To this point, federal prosecutors have declined to bring charges.