The owner of a school bus company in New Jersey was sentenced to five years in state prison for endangering students by hiring unqualified drivers, reported Shore News.
The owner of the company, Ahmed Mahgoub, was sentenced on Jan. 23, after it came to light that the company was failing to perform drug tests and conduct background checks on drivers. It was also reported that the drivers were operating unsafe vehicles.
Mahgoub, 65, owned F&A Transportation, Inc., and pleaded guilty last year to false representation for government contract. His company, which operated in multiple counties, including Essex, Passaic, Morris and Union, secured public school transportation contracts worth $3.5 million from 2016 to 2020.
According to the article, an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and the New Jersey State Police found that Mahgoub hired drivers without valid commercial licenses or criminal background checks.
Some drivers reportedly had criminal records, suspended licenses, or even substance abuse problems. In addition, Mahgoub and his company falsified vehicle inspections forms to cover up safety violations. New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission inspections in 2019 found that nearly all of the company’s buses failed.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said via the article that Mahgoub not only flouted government regulations and standards but also risked the lives of children. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Mahgoub and F&A Transportation must pay $500,000 in corruption profiteering penalties and are banned from doing business with the state for 10 years.
F&A co-owner Faiza Ibrahim, 50, also reportedly entered a pretrial intervention and faces her own penalties.
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