Certified Internal Auditor. MBA. Public Servant. Retaliated Against for Doing the Right Thing.

Brad Neumann, MBA, CIA, served as the City Auditor for the City of Ontario, California. He began his service in April 2022 as an Internal Auditor, where he achieved regular status. In July 2023, he was promoted to City Auditor under a promotional probationary appointment.

Throughout his tenure, Brad remained committed to the highest standards of public accountability, professional independence, and ethical auditing practices. His responsibility was to ensure that city operations were transparent, compliant, and responsibly managed — and to report when they weren’t.

In December 2023, Brad submitted a formal disagreement to the Internal Audit Committee after receiving a directive from an executive that would have required him to subordinate his professional judgment, in violation of audit standards. Within hours, he was placed on leave. Months later, after submitting a whistleblower report to the City’s EthicsPoint system, he received notice that the investigation had been “completed” — without ever being contacted.

Brad created this website not as a form of protest, but as a matter of transparency. He believes retaliation should never happen in the dark, and that the public has a right to see the timeline, decisions, and documents that led to his removal.

This site exists to make that record public.

As City Auditor, Brad Neumann received a credible whistleblower report alleging corruption and found supporting evidence through internal review. Around the same time, he was repeatedly directed by executive management to perform audit work in a way that would violate professional standards. When he resisted and notified the Internal Audit Committee through a message titled “Notice of Request for Resolution of Disagreement,” he was placed on paid administrative leave within 5 hours.

Brad immediately informed Human Resources that the action was retaliatory. HR confirmed they had received his protected disclosure. Despite this, the City moved forward without acknowledging or addressing the protected activity. This site exists to document that retaliation and to bring public visibility to the officials and directives behind it.