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AUDIT FINDINGSA state Comptroller’s Office audit reports that former Upper Cumberland Development District Executive Director Wendy Askins:• Falsified records to get reimbursements totaling $2,824;• Used district funds to reimburse herself at least $1,229 for personal expenses;• Authorized the alteration of meeting records to indicate board authorization of a transaction that received no authorization;• Paid herself at least $9,569 for used furniture and other personal property as well as paying family members for secondhand items purchased on behalf of the district;• Deposited a donation specifically intended for the Meals on Wheels program into the Living the Dream project bank account;• Made a $285,000 payment from the district to the Living the Dream project without board approval;AUDIT FINDINGS• The board of directors failed to exercise adequate oversight of reimbursements to Askins that totaled $144,000 in a 30-month period;• District vehicles were not properly marked as government-owned and were used by management and staff for personal benefit;• District funds were used for expensive meals, alcoholic beverages and other luxury items;• District funds were used for nonessential cellphone charges, including premium texting and music downloads;• District files contained inadequate documentation for credit card purchases;• Preferential treatment was given to Living the Dream residents and a private company owned by Askins.Source: Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury
The only people “living the dream” at a senior living facility with that name in Cookeville, Tenn., were former Upper Cumberland Development District Executive Director Wendy Askins and her daughter, state auditors report.
A state Comptroller’s Office audit released this week blasts Askins for spending thousands in taxpayer dollars on lavish improvements to the main living quarters where she and her adult daughter, Anna, lived rent-free at the Living the Dream project. Among their luxuries were steam showers costing more than $6,000; a double-sided fireplace that cost more than $1,500; and a $25,000 curved staircase from the downstairs portion of the house where Askins lived to the upstairs where her daughter lived.