Pentagon audit finds government credit cards used for gambling, prostitutes: report

A Pentagon audit recently found that several Defense Department employees used government credit cards for gambling and "adult entertainment", according to U.S. media report.

The Pentagon Office of Inspector General found that a number of both civilian and military employees used their government credit cards at casinos and for escort services and other adult entertainment in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, said the U.S. political news website Politico, quoting a Pentagon official briefed on the findings as saying that the purpose of using government credit cards was believed to "shield the charges from spouses."

The Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Politico that the federal government may not have paid for the charges. The official told Politico that holders of government credit cards pay their own bills and later submit receipts to be reimbursed for business-releated expenditure.

The findings by the Office of Inspector General is expected to be released in the coming weeks, Politico said.

In 2012, a law called the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act required federal agencies to tighten oversight of purchases on credit cards issued by the federal government.

"What I hope is that my reforms that became law have been implemented well and that agencies and auditors are using the reforms to catch problems," said Senator Chuck Grassley, sponsor of the 2012 law, in a statement on Thursday. "If everything is implemented as intended, we'll stop a lot of purchase card and travel card abuse." Enditem