A former Clerk Specialist for the Dept. of Public Safety issued 5,817 licenses to people who applied for private investigator, private security and bail enforcement licenses without doing a proper background check, according to a report from the Iowa State Auditor’s Office.

A former Clerk Specialist for the Dept. of Public Safety issued 5,817 licenses to people who applied for private investigator, private security and bail enforcement licenses without doing a proper background check, according to a report from the Iowa State Auditor’s Office. These licenses are referred to within DPS as guard cards.The 23-page report lays out what led to the discovery and termination of Joe Sheehan Jr., the former clerk. He was terminated on November 6th, 2018 after working for the Dept. of Public Safety since 2004. Part of Sheehan’s job included accepting application fees and submitting applicant fingerprint cards to the Division of Criminal Investigation for a nationwide background check. According to the report, the investigation into Sheehan began after the Linn County Sheriff’s Office received an application for a weapon permit from someone who had an extensive history of criminal convictions outside of Iowa and should have been prevented from having a guard card. However, he had an active card. A representative from the Sheriff’s office called a DCI agent to figure out why. The DCI agent then contacted Sheehan and asked him to pull the person’s file and provide the file to a supervisor for review.According to the report, Sheehan’s supervisor discovered he may have lied about submitting the individual’s fingerprint card to DCI on May 3, 2018. Sheehan was then placed on administrative leave while his supervisor did a broader investigation.Using documentation obtained from the FBI, the procedures identified 5,817 licenses were issued between July 1, 2016 and August 15, 2018 without a nationwide background check. The Auditor’s Office said investigators were also unable to determine if all the money received for applications was properly deposited because enough records were not available to compare collections received to collections recorded for all types of licenses. State Auditor Rob Sand is expected to further discuss their office’s findings and results in a news conference Thursday morning.

A former Clerk Specialist for the Dept. of Public Safety issued 5,817 licenses to people who applied for private investigator, private security and bail enforcement licenses without doing a proper background check, according to a report from the Iowa State Auditor’s Office. These licenses are referred to within DPS as guard cards.

The 23-page report lays out what led to the discovery and termination of Joe Sheehan Jr., the former clerk. He was terminated on November 6th, 2018 after working for the Dept. of Public Safety since 2004.


Part of Sheehan’s job included accepting application fees and submitting applicant fingerprint cards to the Division of Criminal Investigation for a nationwide background check.

According to the report, the investigation into Sheehan began after the Linn County Sheriff’s Office received an application for a weapon permit from someone who had an extensive history of criminal convictions outside of Iowa and should have been prevented from having a guard card. However, he had an active card.

A representative from the Sheriff’s office called a DCI agent to figure out why. The DCI agent then contacted Sheehan and asked him to pull the person’s file and provide the file to a supervisor for review.

According to the report, Sheehan’s supervisor discovered he may have lied about submitting the individual’s fingerprint card to DCI on May 3, 2018. Sheehan was then placed on administrative leave while his supervisor did a broader investigation.

Using documentation obtained from the FBI, the procedures identified 5,817 licenses were issued between July 1, 2016 and August 15, 2018 without a nationwide background check.

The Auditor’s Office said investigators were also unable to determine if all the money received for applications was properly deposited because enough records were not available to compare collections received to collections recorded for all types of licenses.

State Auditor Rob Sand is expected to further discuss their office’s findings and results in a news conference Thursday morning.