VA employee took home a government car, disabled GPS and kept it for 4 months, officials say

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read
4

An employee of the Atlanta Veteran’s Affairs took a government owned car and never returned it.

Channel 2′s Consumer Advocate Justin Gray learned that nobody noticed the car was stolen for more than 3 months.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Channel 2 Action News has learned the mental health services employee signed out a government owned Hyundai Elantra back on April 26, but it was not until Aug. 10 that anyone at the VA realized the car was missing.

TRENDING STORIES:

Gray learned VA officials are now investigating how this fell through the cracks, and the case has been turned over the Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

According to reports, the GPS tracker on the car went offline on July 2 in Carrolton after being tampered with or disabled. But still, nobody noticed the car was missing.

Finally on Aug. 10, VA employees started looking for the car. VA police checked every parking spot in five different parking decks at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and also checked parking lots at four other VA facilities.

The car was located at the employee’s home on Aug. 11 and towed back to the VA.

The employee wracked up more than 4,600 miles and more than $1100 in purchase card charges.

VA tells us in a statement

“The Atlanta VA Health Care System recovered a vehicle on August 11 that had been signed out by an employee in April and not returned. The Office of the Inspector General is currently investigating the matter.”

It’s unclear if the employee is facing any disciplinary measures or if that person is also responsible for tampering with the GPS tracker. The employee’s name has not been released.