Who’s checking the checks?
A couple of misplaced commas on a check issued by the City Comptroller’s Office nearly wound up costing taxpayers more than $8 million – and the lawyer who got it says it’s not the first time it happened.
Gary Mayerson, who represents children with autism in educational rights cases, expected to receive a settlement for his clients from the Education Department for $86,415.75.
Instead, the check was for $8,641,575, “one hundred times more than what we’re entitled to,” said Mayerson said, who promptly sent it back. In a letter to Comptroller William Thompson, he said, “this is not the first sizable overpayment we have returned to the city.
“I am very concerned that your office may be hemorrhaging checks like this one to persons who will not act as responsibly as we do.” He told The Post, “We’ve mistakenly received hundreds of thousands of dollars – it happens all the time.”
Jeff Simmons, Thompson’s spokesman, passed the buck on the big-bucks bumble, saying the Department of Education is responsible for keying the right amount into the computer system.
“Now you can understand how the Department of Education was $156 million over budget last fiscal year,” Simmons said.
Bruce Feig, the Education Department’s chief financial officer, admitted human error was to blame, adding that the computer operator who made the mistake will get some more schooling.
“Our systems were not up to date to issue these types of checks,” Feig said. “We’re in the process of making changes.”
He said that a new system will be in place in two weeks, but until that time, checks issued will be manually double-checked.
And in the case of Mayerson’s million dollar payment, “We would have discovered the error at the end of the month when we reconciled our books.”
An Education spokeswoman declined comment when asked whether someone who cashed a huge, mistakenly issued check would face criminal prosecution.
Mayerson said overpayments are not the only problem. Legitimate reimbursement checks to his clients have been delayed this year.
He said some of his clients had to wait six or seven months for their checks, which they use to pay for private therapy for their kids.
“Parents run out of money and go into debt and it’s not right,” he said. “You go through hell and high water to provide [the city] with supporting documentation, and then $8 million gets sent out with no explanation.”