The general counsel of the District of Columbia Retirement Board filed a lawsuit alleging she was retaliated against for exposing the pension fund's "gross understatement of investment management fees" and for complying with federal subpoenas.
Erie Sampson, who has served at the DCRB's general counsel since 2008 and is also its ethics counselor, filed a whistleblower complaint Dec. 30 in Washington's Superior Court. Ms. Sampson alleged the pension fund placed her on administrative leave in October with the intention of firing her for reporting deficiencies, including the fund's failure to report complete and accurate information in its financial reports; its understating of investment management fees and failure to monitor investment management agreements; and human resources failures that have resulted in "a toxic culture of fear and retaliation within the agency."
The board oversees a combined $11.4 billion in assets of the District of Columbia Police Officers and Firefighters' Retirement Fund, and District of Columbia Teachers' Retirement Fund.
In the lawsuit, Ms. Sampson said the DCRB has received three federal subpoenas, and in a statement posted on its website, the fund noted it received two subpoenas in 2020 and one in 2021. Neither the lawsuit nor the fund's statement disclosed the subpoenas' targets.
"There is nothing to indicate that DCRB is the target of any criminal investigation," the DCRB said in its statement. "Each subpoena requested documents and that...
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