OIG-CA-26-018: Determination on Corrective Actions for Desk Review of State of Mississippi's Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund

Summary

Letter OIG-CA-26-018 of January 16, 2026 from the Treasury Office of Inspector General to Jason Quon, Deputy Executive Director, in Jackson, Mississippi, closing out a desk review of Mississippi’s use of Coronavirus Relief Fund proceeds (OIG-CA-25-015). An independent accounting firm had questioned $1,324,066: a $1,320,000 expenditure that Mississippi duplicated and did not remove from its claimed expenditures, and a $4,066 medical cart purchase that lacked payment support. In May 2025 Mississippi returned $1,324,066 to the Department of the Treasury, which the OIG found addressed the questioned costs. Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audit Pauletta Battle signed it.

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




     OFFICE OF
INSPECTOR GENERAL
                                                  January 16, 2026


           OIG-CA-26-018

           Mr. Jason Quon
           Deputy Executive Director
           501 North West Street, Woolfolk Building, Suite 1301A
           Jackson, MS 39201

           Re: Final Determination on Corrective Actions for Desk Review of State of
           Mississippi’s Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund Proceeds (OIG-CA-25-015)

           Dear Mr. Quon:

           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 Mississippi’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
           $1,324,066. In the “direct payments greater than or equal to $50,000” category,
           the IPA determined that Mississippi erroneously duplicated a $1,320,000 previous
           expenditure and failed to adjust the expenditures claimed in the GrantSolutions
           portal by this amount. Also, in the “aggregate payments to individuals” category,

           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 State of Mississippi’s Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund Proceeds,
               OIG-CA-25-015 (December 12, 2024)
Page 2

the IPA determined that a medical cart transaction purchase for $4,066 lacked
payment support.

In April 2025, we contacted Mississippi requesting the state to provide supporting
documentation for the questioned costs. In May 2025, Mississippi returned
$1,324,066 to the Department of the Treasury. As such, Mississippi’s corrective
action 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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