A cyber scam that fleeced $1.4 million from Portland coffers this spring had been flagged as potentially fraudulent by city treasury officials prior to its approval.
Employees with the Portland Housing Bureau, however, still authorized the crooked transaction, records show, marking the largest theft of public funds in the city’s history.
Emails obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive through a public records request — and first detailed Monday by OPB — show the costly error could have been avoided if employees on the housing bureau’s finance team had talked directly to a person at the outfit behind the payment request, as city treasury officials directed.
