DALLAS — The use of forfeiture money under the tenure of former District Attorney Craig Watkins has once again been questioned after another state audit found misuse of the funds and a lack of documentation within the Dallas County District Attorney's Office.
In a report released by the Texas State Auditor's Office, state auditor John Keel reports a total of $80,048 in "unallowable expenditures" from the 2013-2014 fiscal year. According to the audit, misuse of funds included funds spent on traveling, legal and outside counsel fees, and donations.
Keel listed the expenditures:
- A $47,500 legal settlement in fiscal year 2014. The settlement was related to a claim against Dallas County and the former district attorney.
- Outside counsel fees totaling $16,525 related to a contempt matter in which the former district attorney was a defendant. The District Attorney's Office was not allowed, in auditors' opinion, to use state asset forfeiture funds to pay those fees.
- Travel-related expenditures totaling $11,647. Those expenditures included hotel rates and per diems in excess of allowable rates, and some were missing receipts.
- Donations and other expenditures totaling $4,376 that did not meet the provisions set forth by Chapter 59 regarding donations and expenditures for the official purpose of the District Attorney's Office.
Keel also questioned more than $90,000 of expenditures he says didn't have "adequate documentation."
"The District Attorney's Office did not ensure that expenditures of state asset forfeiture funds were adequately documented, approved, and monitored," Keel's overall conclusion said.
"I'm always disappointed when an audit comes out and it's found anyone associated with Dallas County hasn't acted in accordance with the best principles," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
A previous audit of the office's expenditures from 2011 through 2013 also found misuse of funds under Watkins' watch.
In a letter sent out on May 18, Alice Dery, deputy chief of the asset forfeiture and money laundering section, demanded repayment of more than $100,000 to the federal forfeiture fund.
Judge Jenkins said the situation is emblematic of larger uncertainties about laws regarding property seizures and the resulting funds.
"We've got a system that encourages the seizure of property," Jenkins said. "Then, we have a system that allows DAs to spend that money with very little oversight, and we have rules that are ambiguous as to how they spend the money."
News 8 broke the story of Watkins' use of forfeiture funds in 2014, and our stories prompted the unprecedented state audit. It was the first time a Texas state auditor had investigated the use of forfeiture funds.
