Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley released preliminary findings of a scathing forensic audit report Monday that alleges fraud, conflict of interest and abuse of public funds by members of Alabama State University’s board of trustees including its chairman, Elton Dean, and its vice chairman, Marvin Wiggins.
The 36-page report vindicates former Alabama State President Dr. Joseph Silver, who was fired last December after three months on the job. Silver said he was terminated because he uncovered “questionable and troubling” information about the university’s finances. He later released a statement in which he said, “In reviewing the financials, contracts and other pertinent information of Alabama State, I discovered some items I considered questionable and troubling, at best, and a conflict of interest at the least. When I asked for clarifications, I did not get answers. When I asked for supporting data, the data was withheld…and I refused to go along to get along. That is not my operating style.”
The audit, conducted by the firm Forensic Strategic Solutions, stated that their auditors found multiple examples of acts of fraud, waste and abuse at Alabama State including but not limited to:
In just the category of contracts with no deliverables, the report stated that those payments amounted to more than $2.5 million. In payments to Wiggins’ family members alone, the report alleges payments of more than $250,000. Another board member, Dr. Lawrence Lemak, heads a sports foundation that received $864,000 from the university between 2007-2013 without having any contracts with ASU, according to the report. His son and daughter-in-law were on the payroll of that foundation.
The report credits former president Silver with initiating the investigation, stating that after his departure, he received “on his doorstep” a box of financial documents that he had requested as president but which administrators would not allow him to obtain. Silver turned the documents over to the auditors, according to the report.
Silver told Diverse when contacted Monday that he did “not have any comments on the matter.”
