Read Before Submitting a Complaint

BEFORE YOU SUBMIT A COMPLAINT

The SIGPR Hotline receives many complaints each day.  Before you submit your complaint, please review the following information to understand the types of complaints SIGPR does and does not address.

COMPLAINTS SIGPR INVESTIGATES

• Fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act related funding, programs and personnel;
• False statements and false claims;
• Bribery, kickbacks, and gratuities;
• False loan applications;
• Conflicts of interest and ethical violations;
• Contract and procurement fraud; and
• Whistleblower complaints from federal employees, former federal employees, and employment applicants as well as employees of contractors, subcontractors, grantees and subgrantees, and personal service contractors under the jurisdiction of SIGPR who report allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, or reprisal actions as a result of reporting.

COMPLAINTS NOT ADDRESSED THROUGH THE SIGPR HOTLINE

The following table provides information on common complaints received that are outside of SIGPR’s jurisdiction.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO REPORT YOUR COMPLAINT

Please include as much detail as possible including answers to the following questions:

• Who committed the wrongdoing (name of person, company or organization)?
• What exactly was the wrongdoing that took place?
• Where did this wrongdoing take place?
• When did the wrongdoing happen?
• Any other witnesses or information to this wrongdoing beside you?
• Please include information about any other potential leads, documents, or evidence that may be helpful.

Important: SIGPR is not authorized to mediate or intervene on your behalf with state government agencies and benefits providers, financial institutions, loan servicers, housing providers or landlords, housing finance agencies, or other third parties. If you are filing a complaint is to gain some type of relief such as those listed above, please contact the entity directly.

AFTER YOU REPORT YOUR COMPLAINT

A SIGPR analyst will review your complaint for relevance and completeness. Not all complaints result in an investigation or other action.

If you have identified yourself, a reviewing official may contact you for further information. However, if you are not contacted it does not mean your complaint is not being investigated.

Important: The Hotline will not be able to confirm receipt of your complaint beyond an automated response nor respond to any inquiries about action taken on your complaint.

We understand the natural inclination to follow up on a report but SIGPR does not provide the status of complaints. 

Unless you are contacted directly by one of our staff, there will be no communication from our office outside of the initial complaint confirmation receipt or, if applicable, notification that your complaint will be referred to an entity that has appropriate jurisdiction over your matter.

To determine the outcome of a closed case or request SIGPR records, you must submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Please email the SIGPR FOIA officer with requests. Due to privacy concerns, you will not generally be entitled to receive information on disciplinary or adverse action taken against specific individuals involved in a SIGPR investigation. 

Confidentiality and Privacy

SIGPR will not disclose the identity of a complainant unless the complainant consents to such disclosure, the SIGPR Inspector General determines that such disclosure is otherwise unavoidable in order to conduct an inquiry, or the matter is judicated in a criminal proceeding potentially requiring the disclosure.

You are not required to identify yourself when submitting a hotline complaint. In addition to filing anonymously (where you do not give your name to the SIGPR hotline), you may choose to provide your name and request confidentiality.

Anonymous Filing Status

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. That may hinder our ability to investigate your information.

Additional Information

If you submitted additional information or consent to release your identity for investigating your complaint, we will process this information upon receipt.

You may have just made a “protected communication” under Whistleblower Protection Laws. If you suffer retaliation for filing this complaint, you may file a retaliation complaint. To learn more please refer to the SIGPR Whistleblower Protection Information page.
 

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