Richmond’s top election officials committed fraud, wasted city funds and broke policies, probe finds

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – An investigation found Richmond’s top two election officials abused their authority and broke city policies, including fraud, the misuse of city-issued credit cards, wasteful spending, drinking during work hours and not reporting complaints of domestic violence and sexual harassment.

Richmond Inspector General James Osuna and his office investigated the city’s elections office following claims of improper spending and nepotism against General Registrar Keith Balmer and his deputy, Jerry Richardson.

The IG's investigation substantiated 25 of the 26 allegations reviewed, per the 24-page report shared with city officials and obtained by 8News on Monday. Osuna's office doesn't recommend any response to violations in the report.

As the city's general registrar, Balmer leads Richmond’s election office and oversees the administration of elections in the city. While Balmer is a city employee, he reports to the Richmond Electoral Board.  

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The board’s current chair, Republican Starlet Stevens, told 8News on Monday that an electoral board meeting has been set for Dec. 4 where the "report will be reviewed with the Board by Inspector General Osuna in closed session."

On Nov. 18, Stevens told 8News she intends to seek Balmer’s removal, something she previously told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, after being briefed on the IG’s findings.

Balmer told 8News he intends to share a joint statement with Richardson on Tuesday.

Balmer and Richardson, the investigation found, abused their authority and wasted resources and funds in violation of multiple city policies.

Top Richmond election officials broke city rules, HR investigation finds

This included buying unnecessary items, not going through proper procedures on purchases with their city-issued cards, approving false time entries for an employee and more. Other allegations backed up by the IG’s investigation include the failure to share complaints of sexual harassment, domestic violence and other misconduct with human resources.

Wasteful spending, misuse of funds and purchasing violations

Balmer improperly used his city vehicle as a take-home vehicle, taking it to run errands such as picking up his children from school and going to the cleaners without completing appropriate forms to do so, the probe found.

The investigation found Balmer didn’t meet requirements to purchase artwork with his city government purchasing card, which “constitutes a waste of City funds,” the report said.

Balmer, the probe found, wasted government resources by buying “high-quality, high-priced furniture” for his office and other employees’ offices using the government purchasing card. This included a leader sofa for over $2,000, an oak office desk for over $1,100, four leather chairs for $4,119 and more.

Under the city’s public procurement policy, an agency shall give a written price reasonableness when prices offered don’t appear to be fair and reasonable. Balmer’s office did not complete this written determination.

“The General Registrar was provided with several lower-priced furniture options; however, the office chose the highest-priced vendors,” the IG report states.  

Balmer also falsely stated on a form for the city’s Department of Procurement Services that he charged meals for 19 people at a meeting at a restaurant in 2021 on his city-issued card, per the probe, as the receipt showed 25 meals were paid for.

“This constitutes fraud because General Registrar intentionally approved and submitted a document with false information about the number of attendees in comparison with the meal amount purchased,” the IG report states.

The IG’s probe found that Richardson signed “an unnecessary security contract without proper authorization,” wasting city funds by spending tens of thousands of dollars on security despite not reporting any alleged threats to the city’s police department.

Richardson used her city-issued purchasing card to buy a gun, wasting government funds “on a purchase that should not have been made,” per the IG report.

Balmer also had a temp employee provide armed security, a move that placed the city “in a position of liability and financial loss by having an untrained temporary employee provide security services which constituted an abuse of his authority.”  

Balmer abused his authority and wasted government resources when approving the remodeling of the city’s election office, which the IG found was structured to avoid a bidding process requirement.

“The project was split over twenty-one purchase orders, none of which were over the threshold to require bidding,” the report states.

Per the IG report, Richardson used her purchasing card in 2021 to make tuition payments for employees, with only two payments being credited back to the city and an outstanding balance of $1,512.

The inspector general found unnecessary purchases, including automatic door openers which were never installed.

Balmer’s purchasing card transactions exceeded per diem rates for lunches and an elections employee used a city-issued purchasing card to buy lingerie, a video game controller and a nebulizer, per the IG report.

Unreported claims of workplace harassment and domestic assault

Balmer violated city policies on workplace violence by not reporting domestic violence after a temp employee was arrested for domestic assault on their partner, who was a city employee, per the IG report.

Balmer, the investigation found, told the assaulted employee they would have to let them go due to “safety concerns for the other employees” the report states.  

According to the IG report, two employees told Balmer that they overheard the temp worker yelling inside the assaulted employee’s office and Balmer said he didn’t want to get involved in domestic matters.

Richardson did not report claims of harassment and sexual harassment to human resources, the IG investigation found, from two employees.

One employee said another employee used abusive language while yelling at them and the other alleged an employee continued asking them out for a date despite being told they weren’t interested.  

Alcohol on the job and other violations found by investigators

Per the IG report, Balmer violated city policy when he bought alcoholic beverages with his government-issued purchasing card. Under city rules, alcoholic beverages are “non-allowable expenses.”

Balmer also, the investigation found, allowed alcohol to be bought through a security contract and consumed alcohol during work hours in violation of city policy. He also allowed employees to consume alcohol during work hours, per the report.

Richardson, the IG investigation found, didn’t document an employee’s leave, which “constitutes abuse and fraud” because she “intentionally approved false time entries which resulted in the employee being paid when the employee was not working.”

Balmer also abused his authority and wasted government resources by paying his wife as a consultant to develop a training video for the city’s election officers to deal with voters with different abilities.

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The IG’s investigation didn’t substantiate a claim that Balmer purchased a Ford Explorer without being authorized to and removed city logos from the vehicle in violation of policies. The IG confirmed through city documents that the purchase went through the proper procedures.

In the months before the IG report was complete, city records showed procurement violations, high-cost purchases on city-issued credit cards and nepotism claims against Balmer and Richardson.

Purchases on credit cards from the city’s procurement office by Balmer and Richardson, per records from April 15, 2021, to May 1, 2024, include spending on art, hotel stays, furniture, food and stores selling guns, ammunition, shoes and clothes.

Under the city’s purchase card program, agencies are given “cards to use for the payment of qualifying small purchases.” The cards, per the city, allow payments to be prompt, eliminate issues with payments and reduce “processing requirements for transactions under $10,000.00.”

The city suspended Balmer and Richardson’s purchasing cards on May 15, city officials told 8News.

An internal HR investigation from the city found Balmer and Richardson broke nepotism and ethics policies and the city’s elections office should undergo “an immediate departmental restructuring.”

This led Balmer to publicly say that his office would stop hiring and awarding contracts to family members, and “implement more rigorous hiring practices to ensure fairness and equal opportunity for all employees.”