Claim for Per Diem

Review and reconsideration were requested of a Claims Group decision concerning an employee's entitlement to reimbursement for expenditures claimed on a temporary duty travel voucher which the agency suspected was fraudulent in representing lodging costs. Based on the record presented, the Claims Group could find no clear inference of fraud and approved the payments specified on the voucher. In support of its request for reconsideration, the agency presented an Office of Special Investigations report compiled for the employee's case. GAO concluded that, although the report showed certain of the employee's actions to be questionable, the final settlement voucher did not appear to be fraudulent. Accordingly, the employee's claim could be approved for payment for lodging and other subsistence expenses. Depreciation for a trailer could not be paid. However, fuel costs could be reimbursed to the extent that they were separately identified as an additional expense. Other personal expenses were also precluded from reimbursement. The fact that the employee claimed items which were not reimbursable under regulations, did not mean that he filed a fraudulent claim. Accordingly, the claim could be settled in accordance with this decision, and funds erroneously collected from the employee by recoupment should be refunded to him.