Fraud hotline sees 36 reports since launch; one ongoing city investigation reported

Joe Throneberry, senior forensic auditor, updated the Audit Oversight Committee on Oct. 6 on the city’s fraud-prevention and detection program.

Throneberry said the hotline—launched Sept. 23, 2024—is available 24/7 by phone and online, accepts anonymous submissions in multiple languages, and routes incoming reports through an ethics case system to the city manager, city attorney and city auditor for triage. “The fraud hotline now is accessible anonymously. You can identify yourself and with it being available internally and externally is available to anyone who wishes to report information,” Throneberry said.

Throneberry said the city has placed fraud posters and QR codes in departments, distributes notices in weekly employee emails, and plans additional communications around fraud awareness in November. He said the fraud committee (city manager, city attorney, city auditor) meets monthly to review reports and delegate responses.

As of the Oct. 6 meeting, Throneberry said 36 incidents had been reported since the hotline opened. He said most reports have been referrals—guiding citizens to the appropriate agency, such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for identity-theft complaints—and that one matter is currently an open investigation that will be reported to committee members at the appropriate time. Brian Smith said the three recipients of hotline emails review submissions quickly and respond to reporters within 24 business hours in practice.

Throneberry said the office will provide an annual calendar-year report summarizing hotline activity and that auditors will participate in fraud investigations when appropriate to identify control failures and recommend policy changes.