The state opened an investigation to determine whether the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office complied with rules related to the office’s child support enforcement duties.

Montgomery County Sheriff Maxwell Uy has denied any wrongdoing by his office and blamed the matter on a “public misinformation campaign” by the union representing deputies who want to see him ousted in June’s primary for sheriff.

The state’s Child Support Administration is reviewing a “Cooperative Reimbursement Agreement” with the sheriff’s office, officials with the state’s Department of Human Services told The Banner.

UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO, which represents deputies with the sheriff’s office, in a statement alleged that the sheriff’s office is violating the agreement because deputies funded by it performed unrelated duties, “including evictions, courtroom security and extraditions — while their time was recorded as child support enforcement work,” the statement said.

“These allegations raise serious concerns about the potential misuse of public funds and the integrity of a state reimbursement program,” said Gino Renne, president of the union.

“Our members were following orders. If there was a violation of the agreement, accountability must rest where it belongs — at the top, not with the employees who were simply doing what they were told.”

A statement to The Banner from the state’s DHS, which oversees the Child Support Administration, said: “The Child Support Administration is aware of these allegations, and a thorough review is ongoing.”

The DHS added that when it concludes its review it will take action, if needed, to ensure compliance.

Uy said in a statement that the reimbursement agreement is “essentially a grant” that partially funds “a limited number of deputies and one civilian employee who are assigned to perform child support enforcement functions for the MCSO.”

The union’s allegations are “patently false,” he said, because the agreement does not prohibit deputies charged to perform child support duties from unrelated duties, as long as those deputies keep records that accurately reflect that only child support duties are charged to the agreement.

Uy has spoken publicly about a shortfall of deputies that has prompted him to reshuffle some of his staff. MCGEO has blamed the shortfall on Uy, alleging he has created a “culture of fear and dysfunction.”

MCGEO in September declared a vote of “no confidence” in Uy’s leadership.

Uy is facing Will Milam in the June Democratic primary for sheriff. Milam, who was second in command at the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office, has picked up a MCGEO endorsement.