Request for Relief]

Relief was requested for a cashier for the loss of $2,320.40. The record indicated that the missing funds were contained in two metal cash boxes which were inside a Diebold four-drawer safe prior to the disappearance. The cashier stated that she locked the safe before leaving work and the following morning found the safe open, the cash boxes forced open, and the money missing. GAO agreed with the agency that the cashier was not negligent or otherwise at fault in causing the loss from the cash boxes. Rather, it appeared that the loss occurred when the thief or thieves opened the door to the safe. It is quite possible that the door to the safe may have been left unlocked or that someone who knew the combination opened it since there was no sign of forced entry. GAO concurred with the agency's determination that there was nothing in the record to contradict the accountable officer's statement that the safe was locked prior to the theft. Accordingly, relief was granted to the cashier.