The Kentucky Judicial Branch is committed to ensuring public trust and confidence in the state court system by operating in an ethical and transparent manner and being a good steward of taxpayer dollars. This page explains how to report allegations of waste, fraud and abuse involving state court personnel. Complaints will be forwarded to the appropriate entity for investigation.
Fraud is a willful or deliberate act or omission by which an individual intends to obtain an unauthorized benefit, service, property or something of value by deception, misrepresentation or other unethical or unlawful means. Fraud may be committed through many different methods, including mail, e-mail, telephone or the Internet. Fraudulent, unethical or dishonest acts include, but are not limited to:
- Forgery or unauthorized alteration of documents or computer records
- Falsification or misrepresentation of reports to management and external agencies, including time sheets, official travel claims for reimbursement or other expense reimbursement reports
- Authorizing or receiving payment for time not worked
- Misappropriation of funds, supplies or other assets
- Impropriety in handling or reporting of money or financial transactions
- Unauthorized activities that result in a conflict of interest
- Contract and procurement fraud
- Bribery or soliciting bribes
- Soliciting or accepting gratuities
- Kickbacks
- Theft or misuse of government property
- Disclosure of confidential or proprietary information to unauthorized individuals
Waste is the extravagant careless, or needless
expenditure of government funds that results from deficient practices, systems,
internal controls and mismanagement.
Abuse is the improper use or mismanagement of government resources that can include the excessive or inappropriate use of one's position, in a manner contrary to its rightful or legally intended use.
Office of Audits' Investigative Authority:
Rules of Administrative Procedure XIX, Internal and External Audits of the Administrative Office of the Courts, Section 3 (A)(4)(r) states, “The Director of Audits has the responsibility to: “Receive and respond to all claims of fraud, waste, and abuse made to the KCOJ Courts Tipline and investigate or refer as appropriate." The Director of Audits will coordinate the review of the allegations to determine if the allegations are substantiated.
The Office of Audits DOES NOT have authority to investigate:
- Members
of the General Assembly
- Employees
of the Legislative Branch
- Employees
of the Executive Branch
- Justices
of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Court of Appeals, Circuit Judges or
District Judges
- Circuit
Court Clerks
- Constitutional
offices or departments and employees of constitutional offices or departments
In addition, the Office of Audits does not address complaints or grievances involving wages, working conditions, discrimination, or other personnel issues. These issues should be reported to the Administrative Office of the Courts, Department of Human Resources.
Your complaint may not meet our investigative authority if the complaint does not involve a state employee, grantee, sub grantee, vendor, or contractor receiving state funds. Examples that do not meet our investigative authority include, but are not limited to, tax fraud, child support payments and unemployment tax fraud. Complaints received that do not meet our investigative authority may be forwarded to the appropriate office, or our office may respond to your complaint with the contact information of the appropriate office.
How to Report Allegations
You can report allegations by emailing;
courtstipline@kycourts.net; or leave a voice mail message at toll-free (844) 761-0104.
To facilitate an investigation, you are encouraged to provide your contact information along with specific details about your complaint. Anonymous allegations are more difficult to investigate but will be accepted. Please include the following information:
- Identity of the person involved (If you do not know the name of the person, please provide as much identifying information as possible)
- Description of the alleged impropriety
- Court facility or program affected by the alleged misconduct
- Date/time of alleged impropriety
- How you are aware of the alleged impropriety
- Identity of potential witnesses
- Any supporting documentation