Audit: $380,000 in improper spending at Iowa Communications Network

The State Auditor has identified $379,500 in improper disbursements and undeposited collections resulting from management decisions “not in the taxpayers’ best interest,” by the former executive director of the Iowa Communications Network.

Richard Lumbard, of Marion, led the ICN, the state government’s distance learning and broadband carrier network, from 2014 until he was fired Jan. 4. The audit released Thursday covers January 1, 2015, through January 2.

Lumbard’s actions raised alarm bells for his staff last summer when he pushed for the purchase of two pre-owned semi-trailers containing video production equipment, the audit states.

The trailers were delivered to Wind and Fire Ministries Mission Base, in Marion, which Lumbard serves as Chief Executive Officer, auditors found. Lumbard later directed people to sell equipment from the trailers on eBay under the vendor name COH Logistics, an organization with which Lumbard also is affiliated.

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