DAS manager at center of probe over COBRA checks - San Antonio Business Journal:

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The Office of the State Inspectotr General, in a report released Tuesday, outlinec an investigation intothe department, specifically the operatio n that administers the Consolidated Omnibusa Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, That piece of 1986 federal legislation allows unemployed workers to buy health insurance coverage for up to 18 David Holbrook, chief of the COBRA division sincew last year, is the target of the state’s efforg to fire him after investigatora said hundreds of COBRA payment checkas went missing under his Investigators found more than 500 checks, about 200 more than originallhy thought, valued at about $214,000 in a credenz in Holbrook’s office on April 10.
Holbrook, 45, by that time was on paid administrativ e leave and no longet had anoffice key. He denied any knowledge of the checks or how they got into his According tothe report, it was uncleafr if he was purposefully holding the The department said Tuesdat there was “no indication that premium fundsz were misappropriated.” A key factor behind the missing the probe found, was a “dualo accounting process” that was employed becausew the department opted not to switcyh its COBRA records to a new Ohio Administrativ e Knowledge System, or OAKS, aime d at improving operations.
That combined with the retirement ofthe division’w former chief, triggered what the report calledr a “disaster” in processing. The probe also found who once worked in the stated Department of Natural Resources and Department ofYout Services, had a recorde of inappropriate conduct in states jobs that was described as a “patter of dishonest behavior.” At the Administrativew Services Department, he earned a base annual wage of The department in a statement Tuesda y said it has put in place stronger controls on COBRA specifically switching to OAKS, and workefd with those affected by the misplaced The state probe had recommended changes to COBRsA processing operations along with an audit.
The Departmentr of Administrative Services also indicated disciplinary actions mightg notbe over. “We are reviewing the Inspecto General’s report and determining the appropriatee course of action for otheremployees involved,” Directord Hugh Quill said. Investigators also looked into anonymouzs tips thatHolbrook didn’t follo w time reporting policies and refused to pay employeeds for denied vacation time they were permitted to cash in.
The inspector’x office found some instances of wrongdoinbg or omissionson Holbrook’s part and that of the departmeny at large, recommending that the vacation policy itself be