The Washington State Auditor’s Office announced Monday more than $6.9 million in public funds was stolen from the Pierce County Housing Authority by one of its former leaders.
Cova Campbell, the authority's finance director for 20 years, allegedly began defrauding the agency in 2016, according to Pat McCarthy, the Washington state auditor. Campbell was terminated in August.
“Like many frauds, this one started small and grew rapidly,” said McCarthy during a press conference Monday.
The now-former finance director allegedly began with personal purchases on the Housing Authority’s credit cards adding up to more than $25,000, said McCarthy. There were also allegedly $3.2 million in transactions disguised as vendor payments, $635,000 in wire transfers to an out of state bank, and over $3 million in wire transfers directly to Campbell's personal account in Washington, McCarthy said.
Some of the money was used to purchase several properties in Oklahoma, according to the state auditor's office.
“It is a shameful, shameful breach of trust, of public trust. It was accomplished by deliberately circumventing accountability safeguards,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said this is the largest fraud their agency has uncovered on record so far.
The fraud was discovered during a routine financial audit by one of the state’s fraud investigators, who noticed the suspicious transactions.
The Pierce County Housing Authority is a stand-alone government that’s overseen by a board of commissioners. Its mission is to provide housing opportunities to those in Pierce County.
The agency has an annual budget of about $32 million that's made up of funds from local, state, and federal programs and rent on its properties.
That budget was overseen by Campbell, McCarthy said.
Campbell was terminated for misconduct on Aug. 8, 2019, according to a lawsuit filed against her and her husband, who lives in Oklahoma, by the Pierce County Housing Authority.
Representatives from the Housing Authority said their agency has implemented new stricter controls since the audit to protect the agency and public assets. They also emphasized their staff, management, and board of commissioners are dedicated to their mission and rebuilding the public's trust.
The Washington State Auditor’s office is forwarding its report to the FBI. There are currently no formal charges filed against Campbell.
