Managers of the $10 billion pension fund for D.C.’s firefighters, police and teachers are under investigation by federal prosecutors.
The Washington Post reports that former acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Channing D. Phillips, subpoenaed the fund’s retirement board to turn over records for a criminal investigation in August.
The request was for financial transaction records, specifically payments to investment managers and consultants, according to the paper.
The exact focus of the federal investigation is not clear and it is not known whether the probe remains active.
The federal investigation was revealed in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by the retirement board’s general counsel.
The suit filed by Elie Sampson alleges that she was placed on administrative leave following her cooperation with federal investigators as well as alerting city officials at D.C.’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer.
According to the complaint filed in D.C.’s superior court, Sampson said the retaliation came after she tried to address and expose the fund’s finance department’s “failure to report complete and accurate information in its financial reports” and their gross underreporting of investment management fees and failure to monitor management agreements.
She also alleged that the retirement board was “a toxic culture of fear and retaliation within the agency.”
Sampson said she cooperated with FBI investigators and the D.C. office of the Inspector General under three court-ordered subpoenas.
The Retirement Board is comprised of 12 members — three are elected by active teachers, firefighters and police, and three by retired teachers, firefighters and police. Among the remaining board members, three are appointed by the mayor, and three others by the city council.
