Who blew the whistle on an overdose-prevention contractor? County officials give conflicting accounts.

As the criminal investigation broadens into how the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego handled millions of taxpayer dollars, county officials have given conflicting information about how the alleged fraud was discovered and who alerted prosecutors.

A host of questions persist over how the nonprofit focused on preventing deadly drug overdoses was able to win government contracts worth more than $12 million, when even a cursory check of public records raises red flags for the fledgling organization.

San Diego County officials waited all of last week to respond to questions from The San Diego Union-Tribune before issuing a news release after 7 p.m. Friday saying the county did nothing wrong in overseeing Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego contracts.

“There has been no information released to date that indicates any failure of the county’s internal control environment,” spokesperson Tammy Glenn wrote in the announcement.

“In fact, the county’s swift actions — including contract monitoring, corrective directives, audits, site visits, contract suspension, contract termination and referral to the Public Integrity Unit — demonstrate that the county’s systems function as intended,” Glenn added.

The Union-Tribune asked the county Feb. 23 how the nonprofit was able to collect public funds in 2022, even though it had not filed federal tax returns or registered with the state of California.

The newspaper also wanted to know how an organiz...