COUNTY — A two-year whistleblower case against the San Diego Association of Governments has ended with a total of $4.2 million in awards after an arbitrator ruled the agency illegally fired its accounting director five days after she raised concerns about major tolling discrepancies on State Route 125.
Lauren Warrem was recruited to the agency in June 2023 to stabilize a troubled accounting department, she said. What unfolded, though, affected more than 45,000 customer accounts, costing the agency an estimated $1.8 million in lost revenue.
Months later, Warrem found herself at the center of her own complaint, along with allegations of retaliation, and exposing the deep structural failures inside one of the county’s most powerful public agencies. She was fired on Nov. 7, 2023, five days after speaking candidly with an external auditor about the discrepancies.
The total $4.2 million reflects both Warrem’s $2.5 million whistleblower award last year and the $1.7 million judgment for her attorney’s fees. She was represented by Josh Gruenberg, and the total does not include SANDAG’s expenses for outside legal counsel, which are believed to be substantial, he said.
“I was blindsided by the firing,” Warrem added. “I’m sure customers are still getting mischarged. They continue getting a modified audit opinion and an unclean audit opinion from the external auditor because ETAN is still in place. That external auditor is saying, “I can’t give you a clean opinion until you get a...
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