OMAHA, Neb.—The two co-founders of the Autism Center of Nebraska say state Auditor Mike Foley misled the public about problems at their agency last summer and cost them their jobs.
Randy and Rhonda Bojanski filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Foley, the Department of Health and Human Services and other state officials.
The Bojanskis say in their lawsuit that Foley made improper and false statements about the agency when he questioned the way the agency managed its state contracts. Foley said last summer that his office found rampant financial irregularities.
The Bojanskis maintain the agency never mismanaged its finances and always supplied whatever documentation HHS officials requested. The couple is seeking damages, legal fees and back wages. In their lawsuit, the Bojanskis say they were each paid $75,000 annually for their work as chief executive and chief operating officer of the Autism Center.
Foley said he stands behind the audit released last year, but referred questions about the lawsuit to Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning’s office.
Bruning’s spokeswoman said the office would vigorously defend Foley and the state’s interests.
Foley has said the Autism Center received about $2.3 million in public money from June 2007 through April 2008. It served 52 autistic and developmentally disabled people under its state contract, and officials said they received good care.
The center was put on probation last year after the Foley’s office issued a report describing financial impropriety. The Bojanskis were fired and, in exchange, the state suspended its decision to cancel the center’s contract.
The audit turned up evidence pointing to possible overbilling of hundreds of thousands of dollars by the business and questionable spending of thousands more on personal items.
The audit said about $226,000 in billings weren’t properly backed by records.
It said nearly $20,000 was spent on improvements to a home owned by the Bojanskis. They say the improvements were needed to eventually house autistic people.
The audit also said $14,000 was spent on meals and that the center double-billed and forged employee time sheets when trying to overstate the hours employees spent working under the state contract.
The Bojanskis say an independent audit found there no billing irregularities in the Center’s billing to HHS.
Foley said center employees racked up $140,000 in charges to 18 different credit cards over nine months and that there was little documentation to show whether the expenses were related to the care of clients of the center. The 18 credit card accounts were maintained by the Autism Center.
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