MAMOU, La. (KLFY) -- The group that manages a hospital in Mamou was scammed out of over $200,000, according to an audit released Monday.

Savoy Medical Management Group, a component unit of the Town of Mamou which operates the Savoy Medical Center in Mamou as well as five rural clinics in the area, was the victim of an email breach of one of its vendors, according to the audit released by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.

In the report, the independent auditor noted that the business email of one of the organization’s vendors was compromised, and payment instructions were changed. As a result, the organization wired $226,330 to an unknown scammer posing as the vendor. According to auditors, the organization determined Sept. 21, 2023 that the payment for the August 2023 invoice was not received by their vendor and a breach had occurred.

"The Organization did not have procedures in place to confirm the wire instructions sent
through email were valid and the wire fraud was not covered by insurance," the audit reads. "On Sept. 29 (2023), the Organization received notification that $81,819 of the funds were recovered."

Auditors recommended that "The Organization should review their policies and procedures relative to modifications to payment instructions for wire payments. Procedures should be established to require confirmation of payment instructions other than by email correspondence."

The audit was performed by the accounting firm of Kolder, Slaven & Company for the calendar year of 2023.

In addition, the auditor found the organization lacked adequate segregation of duties for its accounting functions, noting it is an ongoing problem.

"The Organization should have a control policy according to which no person should
be given responsibility for more than one related function," the audit reads. "Due to the size of the Organization, there are a small number of available employees."

View the entire audit here:

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