OIG-CA-26-013: Determination on Corrective Actions for Desk Review of San Bernardino County, California's Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund

Summary

Letter of December 22, 2025 (OIG-CA-26-013) from Pauletta Battle, Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audit at the Treasury Office of Inspector General, to Joon Cho, Chief Administrative Analyst of San Bernardino County, California, giving the final determination on corrective actions for the desk review of the county’s use of Coronavirus Relief Fund proceeds (OIG-CA-23-030). The desk review questioned $4,151,612: $280,186 of unsupported medical care costs and $64,488 of ineligible information technology security expenses incurred after the covered period, and $3,806,938 of ineligible excessive depreciation for vehicles used to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May and June 2025 the county provided adequate documentation for $4,087,124 and returned the remaining $64,488 to the Treasury, so its corrective actions addressed the questioned costs.

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                                         DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
                                                W ASHINGTON, D.C. 20220




     OFFICE OF
INSPECTOR GENERAL
                                                 December 22, 2025

           OIG-CA-26-013

           Mr. Joon Cho, CPA
           Chief Administrative Analyst
           385 N. Arrowhead Ave,
           San Bernardino, CA 92415-0125

           Re: Final Determination on Corrective Actions for Desk Review of San Bernardino
           County, California’s Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund Proceeds (OIG-CA-23-030)

           Dear Mr. Cho:

           The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), 1 established
           the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) and appropriated $150 billion for making
           payments to states, District of Columbia, local, territorial, and tribal government
           entities. CRF recipients may use the CRF award funds to cover costs that:

                1. were necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency
                   with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19);
                2. were not accounted for in the government’s budget most recently approved
                   as of March 27, 2020; and
                3. were incurred during the period that began on March 1, 2020, and ended on
                   December 31, 2021, for states, local governments, and territories. In the
                   case of tribal governments, were incurred during the period that began on
                   March 1, 2020, and ended on December 31, 2022 (covered period).
           Under a contract monitored by our office, a certified independent public accounting
           firm (IPA) performed a desk review to evaluate San Bernardino County’s
           documentation supporting its use of CRF proceeds as reported in the
           GrantSolutions 2 portal. In the desk review memorandum, 3 the IPA identified total
           questioned costs of $4,151,612. In the “grants greater than or equal to $50,000”
           category, the IPA identified unsupported questioned costs of $280,186 related to
           medical care. Additionally, the IPA identified ineligible costs of $64,488 related to
           information technology security expenses incurred after the CRF covered period. In
           the “direct payments greater than or equal to $50,000” category, the IPA identified

           1
               P.L. 116-136 (March 27, 2020)
           2   GrantSolutions, a grant and program management Federal shared service provider under the
               United States Department of Health and Human Services, developed a customized and user-
               friendly reporting solution to capture the use of CRF payments from prime recipients.
           3   Treasury OIG, Desk Review of San Bernardino County, California’s Use of Coronavirus Relief
               Fund Proceeds, OIG-CA-23-030 (July 20, 2023)
Page 2

ineligible costs of $3,806,938 related to excessive depreciation expenses for
vehicles used to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April 2025, we contacted San Bernardino requesting the county to provide
supporting documentation for the questioned costs. In May and June 2025, San
Bernardino provided adequate documentation for $4,087,124 and returned the
remaining $64,488 questioned costs to the Department of the Treasury. As such,
San Bernardino’s corrective actions addressed the questioned costs identified in the
desk review.

We appreciate the courtesies and cooperation provided to our staff during the desk
review follow-up. If you have any questions or require further information, please
contact me at (202) 927-5792, or a member of your staff may contact Olivia
Scott, Acting Audit Director, at (202) 927-9635.

Sincerely,

/s/

Pauletta Battle
Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audit


cc:   Michelle. A. Dickerman, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Department of
         the Treasury
      Danielle Christensen, Deputy Chief Program Officer for State and Local
         Programs, Office of Capital Access, Department of the Treasury
      Jeffery W. Stout, Acting Chief Program Officer, Office of Capital Access,
         Department of the Treasury
      Thao P. Tran, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Department of the Treasury


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