A Southeast Texas county is hiring a private firm to investigate how scammers defrauded county officials out of more than $525,000 this year.
The Daily News reports that Galveston County Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to hire Dawson Forensic Group to conduct the investigation and offer recommendations to prevent such theft in the future. Commissioners will pay the Lubbock-based company up to $14,900 to complete the audit.
County officials admitted last month to sending a $525,280 electronic payment to a bank account controlled by a scammer. The email scam tricked employees into changing direct deposit information intended for a construction company that was owed money for road repairs.
A county auditor completed an audit of the incident in June, but County Judge Mark Henry wanted an outside investigation into the theft.
