Acting AG Bruck Announces Indictment Charging Owners of School Bus Company in Essex County With

[TexasTowelie]

Acting AG Bruck Announces Indictment Charging Owners of School Bus Company in Essex County With Using Unqualified Drivers and Unsafe Buses to Transport Children


Acting Attorney Andrew J. Bruck announced that the owners of an Essex County-based school bus company were indicted today for allegedly providing false information to school districts to cover up the fact that the company hired unqualified drivers, failed to conduct mandatory drug testing and criminal background checks for drivers and aides, and operated unsafe buses, all in violation of contract terms and state requirements. The false representations helped the defendants to obtain government contracts worth millions.

The defendants were initially charged by complaint-summons on Oct. 8, 2020. Today a state grand jury indicted Ahmed Mahgoub, 63, his wife, Faiza Ibrahim, 48, both of East Hanover, N.J., and their company F&A Transportation, Inc., also doing business as Smart Union, Inc., and Unity Transportation, Inc. (collectively “F&A”), on the following criminal charges:

• Conspiracy (2nd Degree),
• False Representations for a Government Contract (2nd Degree),
• Theft by Deception (2nd Degree),
• Tampering with Public Records or Information (3rd Degree), and
• Falsifying or Tampering with Records (4th Degree).

Mahgoub and Ibrahim are also charged with Misconduct by a Corporate Official (2nd Degree). F&A is based primarily in East Orange, N.J.

The defendants were charged in an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption Bureau. The alleged criminal conduct relates to contracts that F&A secured from 2016 through 2020 with public school districts in Essex, Passaic, Morris and Union counties. The contracts had an aggregate total value of approximately $3.5 million.

Read more: https://www.insidernj.com/acting-ag-bruck-announces-indictment-charging-owners-school-bus-company-essex-county-using-unqualified-drivers-unsafe-buses-transport-children/