The OIG announces the recently released 2024-2026 Strategic Plan. This new Plan presents the OIG’s goals and objectives and how they align with our mission, core values, and the Inspector General’s new management direction. With this plan, the OIG aims to drive positive change at LSC and its grantees through impactful and agile oversight work that promotes effective program operations and prevents fraud, waste, and abuse.
Ransomware and other cyberattacks pose significant threats to the LSC grantee community. To assist LSC grantees and subgrantees in detecting and preventing these threats, the OIG encourages grantee IT departments to subscribe to CISA’s email updates. CISA’s notifications provide information about the most up-to-date security threats and solutions, such as recommended security patches.
The OIG is implementing a “Cyber After Incident Report Form” to gather more information on reported cyberattacks. The information will be used to better assist grantees with their response and recovery in the event of an attack.
Since March 2020, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) OIG has received approximately 20 hotline complaints involving the outside practice of law or outside employment. Due to the notable increase in complaints, this advisory includes links to past OIG work on outside employment, outside practice of law, and outside employment during remote work. As you know, Part 1604 regulates the outside practice of law by full-time grantee attorneys1 and LSC has provided information related to the inherent risks associated with an employee’s outside employment.
We are issuing the linked Advisory which summarizes common findings and recommendations from Quality Control Reviews of grantee financial statement audits for fiscal years ending 2022 and 2021. We strongly encourage you to use this notice to ensure independent public accounting firms conduct rigorous annual audits that meet applicable standards and Office of Inspector General audit guidance—and to better ensure the audits advance the ultimate aim of promoting program integrity, transparency, and accountability in the expenditure of federal funds.
This Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) advisory highlights (1) common fraud schemes and abusive practices committed by landlords, or individuals posing as landlords (impostor landlords), who are seeking to target current or prospective renters, (2) tips to prevent renter-related fraud, and (3) information on how victims should report fraud. We also cite useful guidance issued by our colleagues in the OIG community with significant expertise in housing and rental fraud.
As the digital landscape evolves and malevolent cyber actors continue to proliferate, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and its grantees are increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats. Since 2018, LSC and its grantees have been the victims of at least 48 cyberattacks, some of which resulted in monetary losses and compromised data. To mitigate the impact of a cyber incident, we strongly urge grantees to establish a comprehensive Cyber Incident Response Plan (CIRP). By developing and implementing a comprehensive CIRP, grantees can mitigate the impact of security breaches, protect sensitive…
This Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) advisory is intended tohighlight the growing trend of financial fraud committed against the senior citizen population. Seniors are a substantial portion of the United States population and the LSC grantee client base. If affected by the fraud schemes described in this advisory, eligible senior clients may request assistance from your legal aid program. According to the Council on Aging, fraud schemes targeting seniors are costly, widespread, and on the rise. Seniors may become targets because they can be more trusting,…
In a continuing effort to assist Legal Services Corporation (LSC) grantees and subgrantees in detecting and preventing cyberattacks, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for LSC is issuing this Hotline Advisory to notify grantees of two recent Business Email Compromise (BEC) frauds perpetrated against LSC grantees. In this advisory, the OIG provides updates on BEC schemes and emerging BEC threats as well as details on how the two recent direct deposit BEC schemes were perpetrated on LSC grantees. We also offer best practices for detecting and preventing BEC schemes, such as the recent BEC…
OIG updated the LSC OIG Audit Guide and Appendices which include the Compliance Supplement for Audits of LSC Recipients (Appendix A). These documents will be effective for audits of LSC recipient fiscal years ending on or after September 30, 2023. Questions about the LSC OIG Audit Guide or Appendices should be sent to OIG at audits@oig.lsc.gov.