“Cosmetic surgery, a mounted deer head, designer briefcases and pricey wine” are among the items illegally purchased by federal employees using government credit cards, according to a GAO report cited in a Reuters story.
According to the report, in the past decade government credit card purchases have skyrocketed from $1 billion to $16 billion. The GAO report says weak oversight contributed to the misuse of cards by employees, such as the 60 U.S. Navy employees who were given a credit limit of $9.9 million each.
Among the more novel purchases mentioned by auditors were the mounted deer head (“to educate airmen about the local deer population” auditors were told), $200 in LEGO toys (“to teach Navy engineers about robotics”), and three global positioning systems from a manager because he “routinely got lost when he went on travel.”