'We Literally Cannot Keep Up': Auditor on Nebraska's Flood of Fraud Tips

by Matt Johnson

(Picture credit Matt Johnson)

Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley and his office have been busy investigating cases of waste, fraud, and abuse of Nebraska’s taxpayer dollars. And every time one of his cases receives publicity, more tips come pouring in.

“We literally cannot keep up with it because it takes time to explore them to see what’s really here,” Foley said, speaking to The Plains Sentinel. “By the time you figure it out and examine it and explore it, three more have come in.”

The state auditor’s office remains relatively small. Around 30-40 years ago, the office had 60 employees. And despite the amount of taxpayer dollars it has to audit having increased exponentially in that time, today it has only 50.

Its budget accounts for around $200 in auditing hours for every $1 million in state expenditures. And with Nebraska having faced a structural budget shortfall of over $600 million this year, Foley believes his office could make a “pretty big dent” in the state’s current deficit if properly staffed.

“We could find more cost savings, I’m certain, if we had more resources to work with,” Foley said. “And the payback would be there.”

And citizens are contacting the auditor’s office to help. One single tip, even a vague one, can lead to major discoveries. In 2008, during Foley’s first term as auditor, a former employee of Wyuka Cemetery walked into his office in Lincoln.

“He said, ‘I just know there’s something really fishy going on there. It’s just not right. Money’s not right.’ And we went in and started an audit,” Foley recalled.

That tip led to the discovery that chief accountant Todd TerMaat had embezzled at least $42,000 by writing unauthorized checks to himself, altering bank statements from Pinnacle Bank, and creating fake reconciliations.

“Pretty clever stuff,” Foley recalled, “but we doubted that it was even worth our time to be there until we finally came into those bank statements.”

Among recent cases uncovered by the office are state employees misusing state vehicles for personal errands — including stops at liquor stores and health appointments. One parole officer drove a state car around 240 miles to a friend’s retirement party.

“The parole officers were driving these cars all over the place,” Foley said. “Well, that’s not an appropriate use for a state vehicle.”

Foley also talked about how Nebraska is seeing the same types of Medicaid fraud that have made headlines in other states involving child care providers and personal assistance services.

“We’ve had some other providers, child care providers, and they’re called personal assistance providers that are clearly fraudulent,” he said. “People claiming to be a personal assistant to an elderly person … billing HHS and getting paid for hours while at the same time they’re posting on Facebook that they just took a trip to Phoenix on the very day when they were billing HHS. It’s amazing the hubris that so many people have.”

Foley has been serving as Nebraska State Auditor for multiple terms — first from 2007–2015 before serving as Lieutenant Governor, and now since 2023. He is heavily favored to serve four more years, as he currently faces no opponent in the 2026 election.

And while the amount of tips coming in seems overwhelming, Foley wants taxpayers to know that his office is working to give attention to every one of them.

“We want people to feel like there is somebody who takes these things seriously—and we do,” Foley said. “We take every one of them seriously because we just never know.”

Citizens with tips can report fraud, waste, or abuse through an anonymous email form on the official website, auditors.nebraska.gov, or by calling the hotline at 1-800-842-8348.

— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.