A former Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety official who claimed he was fired after alleging fraudulent billing and other misconduct will receive a $3 million settlement from the city.

Steve Ongele had sued the city after he was fired from his job in 2019, alleging whistleblowing retaliation. For the previous six years, he had raised concerns about illegal and unethical practices in the building safety department, according to the complaint.

In response, city officials repeatedly reduced his duties and ultimately fired him, the lawsuit alleges.

The City Council approved the $3 million settlement on a 12-0 vote Wednesday. City Council members Monica Rodriguez, Kevin de Leon and Karen Price were absent.

Mr Ongele’s lawyer, Greg Smith, declined to comment. Representative of Sitiati. Heidi Feldstein Soto had no immediate comment.

The $3 million settlement follows a series of scandals in the building safety department. In 2014, a federal investigation into bribery led to a one-time sentence of two and a half years in prison for a building inspector.

In 2018, several employees of the department’s Office of Technical Services resigned amid an internal investigation into fraudulent purchases and false invoices. According to a human resources report prepared by the city, the investigation also revealed that some employees were subject to unusual punishment from their direct superiors, such as eating an entire pizza in a short amount of time.

Mr. Ongele served as Director of the Building and Safety Department’s Office of Resource Management, where he oversaw contracts, purchase orders, and fees.

In 2017, he questioned the nearly $300 million surplus the department incurred as a result of overcharging customers, including the federal government, according to the complaint. Then-general manager Frank Busch took no action, the lawsuit alleges.

Bush, who has since left the department, previously denied Ongele’s claims.

Several years ago, Ongele told then-executive director Raymond Chan that the department was collecting more fees than it was spending. Ongere argued in his lawsuit that an investigation must be conducted to ensure the fees were legitimate and the city did not violate any laws.

According to the complaint, Chan responded by raising his hands and saying, “Please arrest me.”

Chan was convicted earlier this year in an unrelated federal criminal case involving former City Councilman Jose Huizar and a downtown real estate developer. Chan was sentenced last week to 12 years in prison on charges including racketeering conspiracy, bribery and fraud.

Chan’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday about the allegations in Ongere’s lawsuit.

Mr. Ongele, who joined the city in 2000, also alleged in his lawsuit that a friend of Mr. Chan’s had filed claims for more than $160,000 in construction costs on several buildings.

Ongele refused to approve the claim, saying it did not meet the requirements for refund. It was then approved by another building department executive, who told Ongele, “This is for Ray’s friend,” or words to that effect, the lawsuit alleges.

In 2016, Mr. Chan became Deputy Mayor for Business Development under then-Mayor Eric Garcetti. Chan then asked the Department of Building Safety for funds to pay for raises for staff and buy new furniture and computers for the mayor’s office.

That money was taken from special funds Ongele’s lawsuit says the information was intended to be used only for activities related to building permits and plan checks.

Ongere also claimed in the lawsuit that he learned in 2016 that several employees in the building department had been illegally paid overtime over multiple years. Mr. Ongele reported the information to Mr. Bush and “insisted that the money be returned to the employees,” according to the complaint.

After Ongele filed his complaint, he complained to City Council members and then-Mayor Eric Garcetti’s aides, and his duties were reduced, but nothing was done about it, Ongele alleges in his complaint.

Meanwhile, Ongele also did not participate in a 2018 internal investigation into purchases and invoices, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, when he tried to disclose about $4 million worth of fraud to the city commissioner’s office, his boss told him to state that only $300,000 had been misappropriated.

In 2018, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also launched an investigation into the allegations. A spokeswoman for the district attorney had no immediate comment Wednesday on the status of the investigation.