The U.S. Secret Service spent thousands of dollars for agency personnel to attend a cryptocurrency conference in June that officials justified as “mission-critical” to its operations.
“This travel is mission-critical in compliance with field operations that advance the protection of the nations critical financial infrastructure,” states a public financial disclosure from the Department of Homeland Security. “It will further allow for collaboration with international partners and provide attendees with new methods and tactics for investigating complex cryptocurrency fraud.”
One problem: DHS simultaneously determined that the conference’s $8,502 cost was “non-mission critical” and involved “nonessential” travel.