HELP Inc. responds to Missouri audit alleging conflicts of interest

HELP Inc., the parent company of scale preclearance company PrePass, has issued a response following the April 26 release of a Missouri State Auditor report that highlights conflicts of interest of some former state employees who once served on the HELP board of directors.

The audit report details instances where employees of the Missouri Department of Transportation and/or Missouri Highway Patrol attempted to influence contracts in other states, took employment with HELP shortly after leaving their state jobs, and failed to disclose expenses paid to them on their personal financial disclosures, to name a few of the report findings.

The concerns over conflicts of interest and poor planning on the part of the state resulted in significant delays and inefficiencies in the implementation of a fair and comprehensive preclearance and bypass services. The audit report also states that the conflicts of interest cast doubt on the employees’ independence.

The audit report says the employees showed preferential treatment toward HELP while participating in decisions regarding commercial vehicle preclearance and bypass services, including decisions involving HELP’s competitor, Drivewyze.

While HELP was not the target of the audit, the company did issue a statement from CEO Karen Rasmussen criticizing the audit and how it was handled.

“HELP proactively contacted the auditor’s staff prior to the report being released and offered to provide information, but was told that HELP was not the subject of the audit. HELP confirmed these facts with the auditor’s staff in writing. Additionally, the auditor’s staff would not disclose information about the audit to permit HELP to provide relevant information to the auditor’s staff,” Rasmussen’s statement read.

“Despite HELP’s express offer to provide information to the auditor, the auditor and her staff never contacted or interviewed two individuals named in the audit report who currently work for HELP in positions unrelated to Missouri. The report does not mention these facts.”

The company went on to state that it has policies in place to attempt to quell potential conflicts of interest on the board.

“HELP has a stringent conflict of interest policy and procedures that exceed the requirements imposed by the IRS on 501(c)(3) nonprofits. All HELP board members must agree to abide by this policy, which requires that, among other things, a HELP board member may not vote on a HELP project or expenditure that solely benefits his or her state,” Rasmussen’s statement read.

“HELP and its board of directors strive to meet the highest ethical standards of conduct. In like manner, the HELP executive committee, officers, and I stand by and affirm HELP’s leadership in support of its mission of highway safety. We will continue to uphold these standards and have offered to cooperate fully with any further inquiries from state regulators in order to ensure that we set the record straight.”

Since the audit was released to the public April 26, Drivewyze has activated bypass services in Missouri using Drivewyze supplied and installed weigh-in-motion systems. Additionally, construction at two sites near Joplin was recently completed and are fully functional.