Fed Branch Accused of Juggling Books

Managers at the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco falsified their books to cover up accounting errors, Rep. Henry Gonzalez charged Friday.

John Moore, first vice president and chief operating officer at the San Francisco Fed, denied any official coverup, but told The Wall Street Journal that the Los Angeles branch sent incorrect cash reports to Washington. He did not return phone calls Monday.

Rep. Gonzalez, publicizing problems at the Fed's L.A. branch, said on Friday that his staff had uncovered more than $178 million in accounting errors there during the fourth quarter. An aide to the House Banking Committee's ranking Democrat said the branch may have submitted false reports for as long as two years.

The investigation uncovered a variety of mistakes at the branch, which operates one of the government's largest vaults. Errors included $28 million in misclassified cash shipments from the Bureau of Printing and Engraving and $2 million in dollar coins recorded as paper currency.

Rep. Gonzalez asked the General Accounting Office to investigate the branch's currency operations.

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