UCSD Loans Linked To Fraudulent Documents

SAN DIEGO -- A campus audit has shown that at least 13 percent of emergency loans granted through a special program for UC San Diego employees were based in part on fraudulent documents, it was reported Wednesday.

According to an audit of the UCSD Employee Emergency Loan Fund, $15,000 in questionable loans were made to university employees who applied to borrow up to $1,000 each through the program, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The questionable loans were approved between Oct. 1, 2006 and Sept. 30, 2007, and were granted based on fraudulent documents prepared by other UCSD employees, the Union-Tribune reported.

Applicants were unaware of any subterfuge, according to the audit, the newspaper reported.

The names of the UCSD employees accused of preparing fraudulent documents were not reported, and no criminal charges have been filed, according to the Union-Tribune.

One of them is a longtime representative with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, and has been referred for "corrective action," the Union-Tribune reported.

The other was a registration supervisor, who was placed on a so-called investigatory leave last October and has since decided to retire, the newspaper reported.

"It's important to note that we caught this problem ourselves and took immediate and appropriate actions to investigate and conduct an audit," Sally Brainerd, UCSD's associate controller, told the Union-Tribune.

Fraudulent documents submitted with loan applications included denial letters for loans elsewhere and car repair estimates, the newspaper reported.

"Because the loans reviewed were either in repayment via payroll deduction or repaid, the financial risk to the university is minimal," Brainerd told the Union-Tribune.