In a continuing effort to assist Legal Services Corporation grantees and subgrantees in preventing cyberattacks, the Office of Inspector General is issuing a Hotline Advisory to notify grantees of a U.S. Government resource and initiative aimed at protecting American businesses and communities from ransomware attacks.
In light of recent bank failures, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is providing this article, outlining steps to be taken should your grantee funds on deposit exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC's) $250,000 deposit insurance limit.BackgroundBased on multiple news outlets, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the 16th-largest U.S. bank with$210 billion in assets, was closed by California regulators on Friday, March 10, 2023, after depositors rushed to withdraw funds over concerns the bank might become insolvent. It is the second largest bank…
In a continuing effort to assist grantees and subgrantees in preventing cyber threats, the Office of Inspector General for the Legal Services Corporation is providing the following guidance to assist grantees in protecting personal data from a cyber-attack.Specifically, the OIG is providing this guidance to help enhance the security of electronically shared personally identifiable information (PII). PII includes information such as name, address, social security number, birth date, bank account and bank routing numbers, and driver's license numbers. Much of this PII is contained in client…
The Office of Inspector General for the Legal Service Corporation (LSC) recently completed a significant investigation involving a diversion of clients for legal services scheme at an LSC grantee. Client diversion occurs when a grantee employee, contractor, or volunteer diverts clients seeking free legal assistance from the grantee to themselves or an associate for personal gain.
On December 16, 2022, a criminal complaint was filed and an arrest warrant was issued for Teresa Trantham, former Chief Administrative Officer, Legal Services of Eastern Michigan (LSEM). The complaint is based on a joint investigation conducted by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the OIG for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).
The information presented is a summary of the results of QCRs of Fiscal Year 2020 and Fiscal Year 2021 financial statement audits conducted by IPAs. We encourage IPAs and Executive Directors to use the summary information in planning and conducting audits of LSC grantees.
The Office of Inspector General has updated the Audit Guide for Recipients and Auditors and its appendices. The appendix that has majority of the updates is Appendix A (The Compliance Supplement for Audit of LSC Recipients). The appendix designations have also changed to Appendices A-E.
As part of its Hotline Advisory Alerts, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is notifying grantees with the following information on recent phishing/malware attacks on businesses that use Intuit QuickBooks. We understand that some LSC grantees use QuickBooks.Security notices from Intuit advised of several cybercrime phishing schemes against QuickBooks users. In a notice dated May 25, 2022, Intuit warns of one scheme where the user is told by the perpetrator that a temporary hold was placed on their account pending verification of account information.…
After 14 years of service, supporting the mission of equal access to justice through independent, objective oversight, Inspector General Jeffrey E. Schanz retired in March. Mr. Schanz joined the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) after nearly 32 years in the federal IG community. His contributions to LSC and our OIG, and his years of dedicated public service, are much appreciated.Roxanne Caruso has assumed the duties of Acting Inspector General with the endorsement of LSC's Board of Directors, until such time as the Board hires a permanent Inspector General.…
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is informing you of a recent case involving an attorney who was employed simultaneously (full-time) at two different LSC funded programs. The attorney did not disclose the dual employment to either grantee in violation of grantee policies.The attorney worked remotely for both positions. The two jobs had similar responsibilities, and he was paid as a salaried employee at both grantees. His primary duty was to provide brief advice and counsel to clients over the phone. The attorney used his personal phone to…