Gerard Albert III/ Editor-in-Chief
The Office of Internal Audit is launching an audit into the purchase of over 2,000 palm trees at the University.
An audit consists of interviewing, combing through public records and any information from whistleblowers.
The Office of Internal Audit is responsible for conducting investigations for all allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse and any whistleblower complaints at FIU.
After PantherNOW published a staff editorial about the shady nature of the purchase, the office received an anonymous complaint and launched an investigation.
PantherNOW requested the complaint, but the document is not public record while the office conducts its audit. PantherNOW also requested the purchasing papers from the Office of the General Counsel.
Earlier in the summer, the University spent $999,800 to purchase and install 2,007 palm trees from Manuel Diaz Farms, a wholesale plant nursery in Homestead, FL.
In the past, the nursery was placed on a delinquent-contractors list for allegedly failing to replace $100,000 worth of trees purchased by the Parks and Recreation Department. Tree farmer Manuel Diaz was also indicted by a Miami-Dade County grand jury after prosecutors said he stole a million dollars from taxpayers.
The money for the trees came from FIU’s central budget, a non-recurring fund used for University-wide initiatives, according to Media Relations. PantherNOW got no clarification as to where the money in the fund comes from or what else it can be used for.
The audit is ongoing, but there is no estimate as to when it will be published according to officials in the office of Internal Audit.
Once audits are published they become public record and accessible online at https://oia.fiu.edu/.
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