Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento asked the county’s internal audit staff Tuesday to specifically review a county contract with DTN Tech (DTN), after an LAist investigation found Rep. Michelle Steel awarded the vendor $1.2 million in taxpayer meal funds at the same time it was printing her campaign mailers.
The directive from Sarmiento came during a Board of Supervisors meeting in Santa Ana. In a written statement following the meeting, Sarmiento said it was important to thoroughly assess potential issues and implement needed reforms.
“The LAist article uncovered that a vendor, initially engaged in printing work during the campaign, was subsequently awarded a meal contract despite not being in the food industry,” Sarmiento said. “This situation underscores the importance of continuing our internal auditing efforts, as well as bringing in an independent external auditor.”
Steel directed the money to DTN in 2020 when she was an Orange County supervisor running for Congress. The funds came from the federal government and were intended to help needy seniors access food as COVID deaths surged across the county. LAist’s reporting found that Steel agreed to use taxpayer funds to pay DTN far more than vendors billed in districts led by other supervisors. The meals in Steel’s program cost $24 per meal, three times as much as in two of the other districts.