Auditors Discover 'Conflict of Interest', Overpayments at UConn Health

HARTFORD, CT — The University of Connecticut Health Center increased the salaries of employees who approved a consulting contract for the interim head of the center, rehired retired employees, and paid employees more than they should have been compensated under their contracts, according to the Auditors of Public Accounts.

Auditors found that UConn Health, which includes John Dempsey Hospital, the School of Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine, and related research laboratories, increased the salaries of employees who signed off on a $562,500 contract with a consulting company that employed UConn Health Center Chief Executive Officer Andrew Agwunobi in 2014.

“Having a person who also works for a consultant prepare and approve an annual performance evaluation and salary increases of UConn Health employees who authorized payments to that consultant created a risk that the UConn Health employees may have felt compelled to authorize those payments,” the auditors wrote.

In 2014, Agwunobi, who isn’t mentioned by name in the report, took over as interim executive vice president for Health Affairs. He had been a director with Berkeley Research Group, which had a consulting contract with UConn Health. Instead of ending the contract with the consulting company, UConn Health paid the consulting company $562,500 more for Agwunobi to take over the responsibilities of interim executive vice president.

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