Fraud and Irregularities / Compliance Hotline

607-777-5049

The Fraud and Irregularities / Compliance Hotline is a support process within our organizational compliance program.  

For the purpose of this hotline, fraud and irregularities include activities that are (1) misappropriation of assets; (2) in violation of or non-compliant with any SUNY, New York State, or Federal law, regulation, policy or procedure; (3) economically wasteful; (4) an indication of gross misconduct or incompetency; or (5) an unethical, improper, or dishonest act.  Examples of improprieties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Theft of any State or SUNY asset including, but not limited to money, tangible property, trade secrets or intellectual property;
• Misappropriation, misapplication, destruction, removal, or concealment of State or SUNY property;
• Inappropriate use of computer systems, including hacking and software piracy;
• Unauthorized disclosure of confidential or proprietary information;
• Unauthorized disclosure of student educational records, personal information, or medical information;
• Authorizing or receiving compensation for hours not worked or covered by appropriate and available leave;
• Fraudulent or otherwise deceptive financial reporting;
• Credit card and travel expense fraud;
• Use of staff to perform personal errands, services or tasks;
• Alteration or falsification of documents;
• False claims by students, employees, vendors or others associated with SUNY; and
• Bribery, kickbacks, bid rigging and conflicts of interest.

Activities described above that may constitute fraud or irregularities may also be covered by existing policies and procedures on specialized topics.  Such activities may still be reported under this policy, but will be referred for handling to the extent such other procedures exist.  Examples of such policies include:

• Individual employee grievances and complaints concerning terms and conditions of employment will continue to be review in accordance with applicable academic and human resources policies and collective bargaining agreements.
• Complaints regarding sexual harassment and unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, veteran or marital status should be reported to the designated officer and handled in accordance with the applicable complaint procedures.
• Student academic grievances should follow local campus policies and procedures.
• Complaints regarding research administration are generally the responsibility of the Research Foundation for SUNY.
• Complaints related to construction projects administered by the State University Construction Fund (SUCF) or the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) are generally the responsibilities of those entities.
• Complaints related to a SUNY community college should be filed with the appropriate community college.

If you need help finding a University Policy, you should contact the University Ombudsman.

Employees are encouraged to speak first with their supervisor or with a University official who has oversight for the area in question. If that is not a comfortable, possible, or appropriate option - contact the Fraud and Irregularities/Compliance Hotline.

All calls are taken seriously and will be investigated by the appropriate University official.  Whenever possible, the resolution of any investigation will be conveyed to the caller.  For more information, please reference the Fraud and Irregularities / Compliance Hotline Policy #631 and the Non-Retaliation Policy #632.  These policies are located within Binghamton University's Policies and Procedures Manual.