[Appeal of Claims Group's Settlement Finding Travel Voucher Fraudulent]

A Federal Aviation Administration employee appealed a Claims Group decision which found that he fraudulently claimed payment for motel bills during a temporary duty assignment. GAO noted that: (1) the motel receipts that the employee submitted with his travel voucher were not accurate indications of the employee's actual lodgings; (2) the administrative report contained an affidavit stating that the employee was living at another residence during part of the period he claimed he was residing at the motel; and (3) an employee recalled to his permanent duty station for medical reasons may not be reimbursed for subsistence expenses while on a temporary duty assignment. GAO found that: (1) all actual subsistence and mileage claims should have been disallowed for the 10 days the employee claimed payment in the motel; (2) there was no indication that the employee was required to retain lodgings at his temporary duty station; (3) the employee's charges of $45 rent per day at a noncommercial residence during his recall were unreasonable; (4) the employee did not demonstrate the added costs incurred by the individual who supplied living quarters; and (5) only the minimal daily amount established for noncommercial lodgings may be reimbursed. Accordingly, the decision denying the employee's claim was sustained.