The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) allegedly bilked taxpayers out of millions of dollars in a massive human resources scheme, according to a whistleblower.
Iowa Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have been investigating the matter for over a year. The lawmakers sent a letter to high-level Justice Department officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting ATF Director Daniel Driscoll, alleging that ATF leadership “misclassified human resources (HR) and other administrative positions as law enforcement” to pad their salaries.
This scheme allegedly resulted in millions of taxpayer dollars being unlawfully spent on enhanced law enforcement pay and benefits, according to the lawmakers. The DOJ and ATF have failed to respond to repeated inquiries about the matter. Now, the senators have been compelled to take further action after obtaining critical reports from a whistleblower. The Office of Special Counsel and Internal Affairs Division (IAD) detailed “gross waste, fraud, and abuse; substantial misconduct and mismanagement; abuse of power; and potential criminal misconduct” by several key officials, including Deputy Assistant Director Lisa Boykin and HR Division Chief Ralph Bittelari.
Im exposing Biden-era ATF bureaucrats 4defrauding taxpayers 2the tune of MILLIONS OF $$+falsely certifying gov docs+retaliating agnst WBs If heads dont roll NOTHING changes AG Bondi shld hold thm accountable&end ATFs fraudulent waste Thx Sen Ernst 4joining me 2seek accountability
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) May 12, 2025
The letter notes that the IAD report outlined several incidents, such as Bittelari fraudulently misclassifying employees in 2020 and a disturbing pattern of retaliation against workers who objected to the practice.
The IAD report reveals that in February 2020, HR Division Chief Ralph Bittelari fraudulently certified a position description for the Chief of the ATF’s Workforce Wellness and Services Division (WWSD) at the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters as a law enforcement role. However, the report makes clear that the primary responsibilities of the position centered on developing workforce wellness programs and were not related to law enforcement duties. Both the ATF HR specialist assigned to classify the position and their direct manager, Branch Chief Nina Cox, determined that the role should be classified as non-law enforcement. The report indicates that this was not a mere disagreement in interpretation; in fact, the HR classification expert explicitly warned Deputy Division Chief Kathryn Greene, Branch Chief Cox, and Division Chief Bittelari via email that the classification “is not supportable based on OPM standards and policy.” Following this warning, the classification expert recused themselves from the process and was subsequently threatened with insubordination by Deputy Division Chief Greene. Despite the expert’s objections and recusal, Bittelari proceeded to sign off on the position as law enforcement, fraudulently certifying that it was properly classified.
It is unacceptable that the Biden admin looked the other way while ATF bureaucrats knowingly defrauded taxpayers to pad their salaries.
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) May 12, 2025
These desk jockeys pretending to be law enforcement officers are about to get a crash course in the law.👇 https://t.co/2m8OoWQoDt
Boykin allegedly lied about the hiring timeline for a specific position. Emails show she collaborated on the job description months before it was approved, according to the lawmakers. Even after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) suspended the ATF’s authority to classify positions, Bittelari continued to engage in fraudulent activity and “hide his unlawful assignment by submitting the promotion directly to payroll.”
“Their complete disregard for the law despite being ‘fully aware of the potential consequences’ show that Boykin and Bittelari should not have leadership positions at the Justice Department or its components,” the letter read, further noting that whistleblowers “have continued to be subjected to retaliation by being demoted.”
If the allegations prove accurate, Boykin, Bittelari, and possibly others could lose their jobs. It is also possible that they could face prosecution for the alleged fraud.
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