TRENTON – Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck announced today that Academy Bus, LLC (Academy) and several related entities and individuals will pay a total of $20.5 million to resolve the State’s lawsuit accusing the defendants of overcharging New Jersey Transit by underreporting missed bus trips and by over-billing for hours and miles driven. The agreement represents the State’s largest-ever False Claims Act settlement outside the healthcare sector.
In November 2020, the State intervened in a former Academy employee’s whistleblower lawsuit against the company, which advertises itself as the nation’s largest private transportation company. The State’s complaint alleged that Academy engaged in an “extensive multi-year, multi-million-dollar fraud” by failing to report tens of thousands of missed bus trips between April 2012 and December 2018. The complaint further alleged that the missed bus trips caused the riding public along the affected bus lines to suffer.
In addition to the monetary payment, Academy is required under today’s settlement to implement specific steps designed to strengthen its internal accountability from drivers to executives and to provide greater transparency in any contracts with NJ Transit. Among other measures, Academy has agreed to retain an independent Integrity Oversight Monitor and create new policies, procedures and training efforts to ensure the accurate reporting of missed bus trips, hours logged and miles driven.
“This settlement sends a...
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