OIG Services

Your complaint is under review. If it’s appropriate for another agency to investigate your complaint, it will be forwarded to the appropriate agency.  You will only be contacted if we require additional information. Once a case is opened, we will not discuss its progress, and we will not respond to status requests. You will be notified when your complaint is closed. At that time you will be provided instructions on how to submit a records request.

You are not required to identify yourself when submitting a hotline complaint. In addition to filing anonymously you may choose to provide your name and request confidentiality.

Please report the following to the OIG:

• Bribery and acceptance of gratuities
• Conflicts of interest
• Contract and procurement fraud
• Health care fraud
• Travel or purchase card fraud
• Cost/labor mischarging
• COVID-19/CARES Act Fraud

The following matters are NOT generally investigated by the OIG:

• 911 Emergencies
• Minor incidents of time and attendance abuse
• Minor incidents of misuse of Government vehicles
• Employment related grievances and complaints against management officials
• Complaints of EEO discrimination
• Deceptive lending practices and other consumer fraud

When reporting information to the OIG, be as specific and provide as much detail as possible – the who, what, where, when, and why of the matter. The more information you provide, the more thorough any OIG investigation can be. If possible, indicate:

• the specific nature of the wrongful or inappropriate act (give as many details as possible);
• the name of person(s) who committed the act;
• the place where the person works;
• the date and time the act occurred;
• the place where the act occurred;
• the reason you believe the act is wrongful or inappropriate; and
• the name, telephone number, and address of any person who can corroborate or supplement your information.

Any relevant information or knowledge you acquire after making a report to the OIG should also be reported in follow-up calls.

Once you make a report to us, we conduct a preliminary assessment of the complaint to determine how it should proceed. We can do any of the following:

• Open a preliminary investigation to determine whether the case should be a criminal matter
• Refer the complaint to another state or federal agency because the OIG lacks jurisdiction to address the complaint;
• Refer the matter to the appropriate District agency and request a response; or
• Close out a complaint that does not provide a sufficient basis to initiate and investigation and/or sufficient contact information to follow-up with the complainant to obtain sufficient information to evaluate the complaint.

While we understand you may want updates on the status of your report, we cannot provide information regarding what action(s) have been taken on any allegation reported to our office. District regulations prohibit the disclosure of information contained in law enforcement records even to the individual submitting the allegation(s).

Unless you are contacted directly by one of our investigators, there will be no communication from our office, outside of correspondence which may advise you that your matter has been referred to another entity if your submitted allegations do not fall under the jurisdiction or cognizance of the DC Office of the Inspector General.

We will not disclose the identity of a complainant unless they consent to such disclosure, or the Inspector General determines that such disclosure is otherwise unavoidable in order to conduct an inquiry.

The Inspector General will only disclose your identity on a "need-to-know" basis to organizations necessary to conduct an inquiry and take corrective actions, unless a court of law or other legal authority mandates disclosing your identity. It may be beneficial for investigative personnel to clarify or obtain additional information from you. In these cases, consent to disclose your identity would aid the investigative process.

If you file your complaint anonymously, we will not know who you are, and we will not be able to contact you to request additional information. When reporting waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement to the OIG, you may remain anonymous if you wish. However, you are encouraged to identify yourself so that we may follow-up on your call, if necessary, and obtain additional information that will aid us in our investigation. If you give your name, your identity will be protected to the maximum extent allowed by law.

It is impermissible for a government employer to retaliate against an employee for reporting information to the OIG. If you believe that by making a report to the OIG you may be at risk of reprisal, inform the OIG of this fact.