OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — An audit in the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund spending has Oklahoma’s Attorney General Gentner Drummond weighing in.

On Monday, AG Drummond stopped by the University of Oklahoma’s campus in Tulsa and during his visit gave an update on the investigation.

“We owe the federal government at least $18 million back that we gave to friends and family to people that didn’t need it,” Drummond said. “We had over 600 families in desperate need of those dollars that were valid applicants never got it.”

Attorney General Drummond says he hopes the investigation helps state officials learn from previous mistakes when it comes to managing state funds.

Oklahoma received nearly $40 million from the federal government during the pandemic.