The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "severance payments" ...
-
Crooked Teeth
The WFAA-TV investigative series, "Crooked Teeth," reveals a troubling lack of state and federal oversight of the Texas Medicaid orthodontic program, which is designed to help poor children with severely misaligned teeth. The lack of oversight has allowed Texas dentists and their corporations to exploit the health care bureaucracy and garner hundreds of millions of dollars. "Crooked Teeth" also raises questions about other Medicaid reimbursements nationally, including troubling payment policies by one of the nation's largest government contractors.
Tags: orthodontics; Medicaid; teeth; Texas; health care
-
Wayne County Confidential: Government Run Amok
This investigation exposed a secret $200,000 severance paid out to a government employee while others endured a 20% pay cut. WXYZ found that the severance was never disclosed to county commissioners, who are supposed to approve all payments of $50,000. The reporting caused the county to cancel 16 other severance payments for voluntary resignations, including one for up to $350,000.
Tags: severance payments; voluntary resignation; breaking news; broadcast
-
"Wrongful Conviction, Unequal Compensation"
New York states says it has a "moral obligation" to tend to those who are wrongfully convicted. Once released, however, those who were wrongfully put behind bars often spend years waiting on compensation, while others never receive any payment at all. Reporters for the New York City News Service take a look at what happens after the prisoner's release and find several flaws in the state's system.
Tags: New York State law; wrongfully convicted; wrongful conviction compensation law; John Scott; Isidore Zimmerman
-
Home Health Hustler
This investigation exposed a woman using multiple identities to set up and operate fraudulent home health care businesses and bill the government. Their investigation found Irene Anderson, also known as Iya Edwards, was in the country illegally and ordered deported nearly twenty years previous, yet she was able to establish numerous home health care agencies and collect millions of dollars in government money. She received Medicare payments for patients who would not typically qualify for home care coverage and for patients who received no home health care at all. This story exposed lapses in federal healthcare and legal systems as well as in the state regulatory system home health care providers. The news team found several ex-employees who had reported fraud and abuse to the state, but nothing had been done. In fact, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services claimed it conducted an investigation and found nothing, clearing the way for Anderson to continue to fraudulently bill the federal government. The investigation triggered an arrest, a federal raid, criminal charges, repayment of millions of tax dollars and promises of legislative change.
Tags: Texas; home health care; fraud; Medicare fraud; public records
-
Special Report: Good Works, Fast Cash. Special Report: How Much Would You Pay?
Dixon spent three months following a chain of titles on hundreds of property deals and deeds. She found that several real-estate companies which contract with charities to evaluate and sell real estate donations on behalf of the charities are scramming the charities. Dixon found that " The company [Donate Real Estate] was selling property to associates of the founders, who then flipped, or resold the property, to buyers who paid many times the first purchase price. Those buyers then got mortgages based on inflated appraisals, didn't make their payments, and the homes went into foreclosure." The investigation unearthed a brazen and widespread real estate and mortgage fraud scheme that took advantage of novice investors.
Tags: real estate; fraud; scam; mortgage; Habitat For Humanity; charity; Donate Real Estate; MLS records; Maupin; bankruptcy
-
"When Dad Won't Pay"
Story follows trends in child support enforcement and explores reasons behind deadbeat parenting. Traces several states' efforts and legislation, as well as the problem of interstate enforcement.
Tags: deadbeat; child support; custody; noncustodial; parents; payment; divorce; visitation
-
Pay and Benefits of Leaders and 479 Private Colleges and Universities
The story looked at trends in pay and benefits for presidents and the highest-paid employees at the country's biggest and most prestigious colleges. The highest paid president in 1994-95, Franklyn Jenifer of Howard University, had left the school that year under a cloud. That didn't deter the trustees from giving him a $676,980 severance payment, bringing his total pay for the year to just over $800,000. The investigation found that several presidents had received bonuses of various kinds, which had boosted their pay by tens of thousands of dollars. The packet includes a 19-page table listing salaries and benefits for the top-paid people. (October 18, 1996)
-
No title (id: 2807)
Houston Post investigation of the Harris County Hospital District's plans to build a new hospital raises several conflict-of-interests questions: plans to finance it by a hospital board member's bank without competitive bidding and a doctor payment system that favors another board member's university and costs the hospital an extra $4 million a year, 1984.
Tags: TX Brewton
-
No title (id: 1077)
Kansas City Star looks at the Marine Corps Finance Center in Kansas City and finds that payments are riddled with errors, with mispayments near $100 million in several recent years; also finds serious mismanagement and sexual harassment of the mostly female civilian work force, July 21, 1985.
Tags: None