(a) The authority to enforce the provisions of this article shall be vested in the State Auditor. The State Auditor shall promptly forward any evidence of suspected fraud, misappropriation of, mismanagement or waste of state funds to the commission on special investigations and, if potentially criminal in nature, to the prosecuting attorney of the county in which such is alleged to have taken place, to the law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction in the area as well as to the commission on special investigations.

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Terms Used In West Virginia Code 12-4A-4

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10

(b) If such reports are made about an agency that has its own investigative body, then the State Auditor may refer evidence of the fraud, misappropriation, mismanagement or waste to that investigative body.