Inspector General

20151113-034269 21
… I’m sure that this was done in our office with me witting of it,
I’m sure of that.
MG Lewis told us “I am sure that there’s a portion of those [the April 10, 2015, GTCC
charges] that are accurate, but they’re not to that amount and that extent.”
MG Lewis’ TCL response regarding official statements regarding GTCC use in Itaewon, Seoul
In his TCL response, MG Lewis stated that during his interview, in response to a question
about his GTCC use on April 10, 2015, he told investigators that “although I was unsure, I may
have used my [GTCC] on that night for a few drinks and food.” We reviewed MG Lewis’
interview transcript and noted that he told us “I know I’ve used my card on this portion of the
trip, during this period of time that we are talking about, I know that I did.” When asked during
his interview whether he used his GTCC that evening, MG Lewis provided a one word response:
“Yes.” MG Lewis added during his interview, “I am sure that there’s a portion of those [the
April 10, 2015, GTCC charges] that are accurate.”
As presented in Table 3 above, there were five charges to MG Lewis’ GTCC during
MG Lewis’ April 2015 TDY trip to Asia. The April 10, 2015, Candy Bar club charges were the
first two charges from a business on MG Lewis’ GTCC during his trip to South Korea. Two of
the five charges were currency conversion charges corresponding to the Candy Bar club charges.
The only other charge from a business on his GTCC during this TDY trip was his hotel charge
on April 11, 2015.
In his TCL response, MG Lewis presented what he asserted were indications that the charges to
his GTCC were fraudulent. MG Lewis claimed:
[T]he receipts for these transactions have only scrawls or marks in
the “signature” block that are obviously not mine (the signature at
the end of the [TCL response] document is the one I always use). I
have never made or seen those marks before the IG team produced
these receipts. Both receipts contain a suspicious 81.8181% tip,
highly unusual in both Korean and American culture. The date
time stamp on the receipts indicates that the first, for an amount of
$451 with a $369 tip, was executed at 0148 [1:48 a.m.] Korean
local time and the second, for $110 with a $369 tip, was executed
at 0411 [4:11 a.m.]…. The lack of genuine signature, as well as
the tip amount and percentage on both receipts supports a finding
that these were not legitimate charges.
While MG Lewis asserted that the marks in the signature block of the Candy Bar club
receipts were not his signature, vendors may charge credit cards without the cardholder signing a
receipt. As an example, MG Lewis’ voucher for this South Korea TDY trip contains an
unsigned, approved GTCC receipt charged to MG Lewis’ GTCC from the delegation hotel for
the amount of 760,670 won ($737.71); the same amount listed on MG Lewis’ GTCC statement.
MG Lewis also questioned the timing of the charges posted to his GTCC, stating: