[Claim for Travel Expenses]

An authorized certifying officer requested a decision regarding a Forest Service employee's entitlement to reimbursement of expenses related to temporary duty travel. In this case, certain expenses were fraudulently claimed, while others appeared legitimate. GAO held that a fraudulent claim for lodgings or meals taints the entire claim for actual subsistence expenses for the specific day involved. Thus, the employee may not be reimbursed for actual subsistence expenses on the 2 days for which fraudulent claims were submitted. Similarly, when the employee claimed expenses for meals that were not incurred, GAO held that all subsistence expenses should be disallowed for that day. Regarding a question concerning reimbursement for meal expenses, GAO held that a certifying officer may disallow claims for meals which involved imprudent or unnecessary expenditures if it can be shown that the employee departed earlier than necessary for his temporary duty station. In this instance, there was no evidence of fraud and, although claims for two meals may be disallowed, the cost of lodging and another meal should be reimbursed, if otherwise proper.