Possible $10-Million Fraud at Edison

Widening an investigation that began with two employees’ falsified expense accounts, the California Public Utilities Commission was warned Friday that as much as $10 million may have been fraudulently misappropriated from Southern California Edison Co.

The PUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates formally asked the commission that Edison’s current round of rates be set with the proviso that the company may have to make financial adjustments later--depending on how much, if any, of the $10 million is missing.

“It means that if we figure out later on that something funny happened with the money, they have to give it back to the ratepayers,” PUC senior counsel Irene K. Moosen said.

The PUC began its investigation after Edison fired two mid-level managers at its Long Beach field office last September.

The company said Floyd Younkin and Gary Morishita had each falsified $10,000 to $15,000 in expenses.

The men worked on projects promoting energy efficiency programs among Edison’s customers.

The Division of Ratepayer Advocates moved to protect “in excess of $10 million” after Edison reported in more detail the ratepayer-funded programs that may have been affected by wrongdoing that apparently goes far beyond the original charges.

The company said it believed that the larger fraud investigation was a separate matter from the issue of the two men’s expense accounts.