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Feds Now Investigating Oklahoma State Department of Health

Joe Wertz / StateImpact Oklahoma
Interim Health Commissioner Preston Doerflinger.

The Oklahoma Attorney General’s office on Tuesday said a probe into alleged mismanagement of roughly $30 million from the Oklahoma State Department of Health has expanded to include investigators from the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

You should know: This confirms testimony Interim Health Commissioner Preston Doerflinger gave to a House investigative committee that at least some of the money under scrutiny was in accounts restricted to federal programs administered by the state agency. Authorities are trying to unravel the financial mess, which almost forced the agency to miss its payroll, required a stop-gap emergency cash infusion from lawmakers and led to layoffs. A grand jury investigation could also mean criminal charges.


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Jackie Fortiér worked for StateImpact Oklahoma from November 2017 to January 2020, reporting on a variety of topics and heading up its health reporting initiative. She has many journalism awards to her name during her years of multi-media reporting in Colorado, and was part of a team recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists with a Sigma Delta Chi award for excellence in breaking news reporting in 2013.
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