U.S. auditors accuse Maine of misusing federal grants to shore up its pension fund

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 6, 2023

Federal auditors have accused Maine of diverting $2.6 million in federal grants meant to fund popular fishing, hunting and wildlife protection programs into its underfunded pension and retiree health care system instead. The investigative arm of the U.S. Department of the Interior has issued several recent audits, the latest released July 28, questioning the practice of using new grants to pay down old pension liabilities within Maine’s Department of Marine Resources and Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife between 2017 and 2019.