Priceless

From pornography to electronics, improper charge card purchases by federal employees total millions of dollars. Some employees try to skirt procurement rules by breaking expensive purchases into multiple transactions. Here's a look at some of the abuses uncovered by GAO and inspectors general:

• An Education Department employee charged $11,700 over several years to pay for herself and a co-worker to attend college. The courses were deemed unrelated to the department's mission. No managers reviewed the employee's monthly card statement.
• A HUD cardholder bought nine personal digital assistants and accessories totaling $3,788. Because the price tag exceeded the $2,500 limit for a single charge card purchase, the employee made two separate transactions less than five minutes apart from the same vendor.
• HUD employees charged more than $8,900 at music and electronics stores, including Sound-Craft Systems, J&R Music Store, Guitar Source and Clean Cuts Music.
• A Navy cardholder paid for two automobiles, surgical enhancements, and a motorcycle on a government card. The employee made 59 fraudulent purchases totaling more than $132,000.
• A Forest Service cardholder spent $2,960 on five digital cameras, $6,019 on six computers, $736 on three palm pilots, $1,976 on jewelry and other items, $6,101 on Sony PlayStations.