MADISONVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Comptroller's Office completed an investigation into allegations surrounding the closing of Hiwassee College on Thursday.
The college closed in 2019 after its Board of Trustees determined that it had too many financial problems. Officials investigated accounting records, bank statements and supporting documents for the time between July 1, 2016 - Sept. 2, 2019. They said they found several issues related to its records.
In one case, the former college president was reimbursed twice for the same expense, according to a release from officials. A travel expense report was approved in Nov. 2017 for $1,510.77, and a second report was approved in March 2018 for the same thing, according to officials.
They also said that college officials released at least $1,135,170.56 from its endowment before meeting state law requirements. The funds were sent to the college's operating account, and investigators did not find evidence that the institution failed to use the funds to benefit the college.
Investigators said they interviewed several former employees of Hiwassee College. They said that many of the financial deficiencies can be attributed to a lack of oversight from management and inadequate maintenance of accounting records.
A full investigative report can be found online. Board members have also said they intend to correct or have already corrected the financial deficiencies.