The Utah Attorney General’s Office has charged a former Utah Department of Natural Resources employee with multiple felonies, saying he allegedly defrauded the state out of $1.3 million over the past 20 years.
A Tuesday press release from the A.G.’s office says Daniel Clark, who had served as construction and development manager, created fake bid documents and paid his own company, Colt Paving, Inc., for projects that didn’t actually exist.
The company was created in the mid-’90s with Clark as the incorporator and president, according to a charging document filed Tuesday. The primary phone number associated with the company was Clark’s personal number. Investigators found bid sheets for projects at Antelope Island, East Canyon, Jordanelle, Rockport and Utah Lake state parks that were signed by Clark. Those jobs were awarded to Colt Paving Inc., the company that offered to do the job for the least amount of money.
Invoices from Colt Paving Inc. to the parks were approved by Clark. Checks were issued by the state of Utah for those projects and deposited into Clark’s bank account, according to the document.
Park managers and employees at the parks told investigators that the invoices from Colt Paving Inc. often described projects that weren’t actually completed at their worksites.
Clark’s alleged actions were uncovered after an internal audit last March, and he was fired in July.
He told investigators that he completed every project in question, according to the charging document. He also said he spoke to the other bidders on the bid sheets, and told investigators that if he felt a bid was too high, Colt Paving Inc. would take the project. Clark said that given his experience in construction, he thought he could do a better job for a lower price. He also told investigators that whole system is “rife for abuse” because there isn’t a two-source verification that projects are completed.
Clark has been charged with five second-degree felony counts of communication fraud. He has also been charged with second-degree felony counts of a pattern of unlawful activity and using his position to secure privileges.
The Utah Department of Natural Resources issued a statement on Tuesday saying the department has a zero-tolerance policy for the misuse of public funds. The statement says the Attorney General’s Office was immediately contacted after the alleged fraud was discovered.
“Since this incident, significant internal changes have been made to strengthen financial safeguards, including further segregation of duties; enhanced verifications of purchases; additional purchasing and fraud detection training and enhanced disciplinary action for violating purchasing guidelines,” the statement reads.
